Bound by Love
by TheologyDiscography
Summary: Aralia and Rayne are bound by love to protect those around them. Especially their chosen soulmate. But what exactly does that mean? somewhat OCcentric FIRST EDIT COMPLETED AND POSTED. H/D Wtwins/OCtwins
1. Chapter 1

Here's the first edit, because I want to get our crappy 4-in-the-morning writing off of my page as soon as possible. Another edit may be forthcoming after Rya gets a chance to read my edits. She'll no doubt have things she wants to change as well. I think I'll send her here to read it though, since we see each other so rarely since she moved.

* * *

-

* * *

Aralia watched in amusement as her sister Rayne stared around them, obviously fascinated with their new surroundings. Their family had just moved to England, and things were a lot different here. Both girls felt out of place with their low-rise blue jeans, and faded band tees. Every one here was dressed almost formally. And it didn't help that their exotic looks, accepted back at their old school, were getting them second, and even third glances from the kids around them, and only a few of them were admiring.

They pulled their heavy school trunks towards the old, slightly battered train, struggling slightly with the awkward burdens. They were just too long and wide for carrying comfortably. Suddenly, they were pulled out of their hands, and the girls looked up to see a pair of redheaded boys casually lifting them onto the train, in addition to their own.

The boys were handsome enough, with flaming red hair and a scattered trace of freckles across the bridge of their noses, and cheeks. Both were taller than Aralia and Rayne, and they carried an easy air of relaxed mischief about them, rather than the solemnity their height and broad shoulders could have conveyed. Rayne looked to her sister, almost exact mirror of herself. She had amethyst waist length, wavy hair, currently pulled back into a haphazard ponytail, her tricolor braid falling apart with the day's stressful activities.

"Fix your braid, 'Lia," she murmured to her sister. Aralia looked startled for a moment, then smoothed her fingers gently over her small braid, separating the black, white, and amethyst strands and weaving them back into the braid as they followed the boys who had absconded with their trunks. They soon ducked into a compartment, and the girls gratefully followed, glad to escape the crowd in the corridor of the train. Now that they could get a good look at them, it was obvious that the boys were also twins.

"Your obviously not from around here…" the twin on the left said, Rayne noticed that his face was slightly more rounded, giving him a younger appearance than his counterpart.

"…So where you from?" The one on the right finished. Aralia noted the flirtatious twinkle in his eyes, while his brother seemed to be spacing out a bit. She raised an eyebrow at him, not that he noticed.

'What in the world is he doing Ray?' Aralia's voice echoed in her sister's mind. Rayne glanced at her and winked.

'He's checking you out baby girl, what's it look like?' She winced as Aralia poked her.

'No, I can see he's checking me out, I meant _him_. What's _he_ doing that he can't focus on this level?' she glanced over at him again. 'Ne'mind. I'll see.' She quickly reached over and placed the tips of her fingers on his forehead, before his brother could intercept her. She focused for a second then drew her hand back as if she had been bitten.

"I could have done without that particular mental image of my sister, thank _you_," she commented. Rayne doubled over with laughter, as her sister passed over the image. It was a very graphic imagining, involving a leather harness and a cat-o-nine-tails. With a wide grin on his face, the brother on the left gave a shrug.

"Don't ask if you don't want to know," he chuckled. "My name is Fred." He held both hands out, offering one to each girl. "Fred, that was one of the most creative fantasies you've had in quite some time, if I do say so myself." He bowed over Aralia's hand and placed a kiss on her caramel skin, then repeated the gesture with Rayne. "But I suppose it's hard to resist when in the company of such beautiful young ladies."

Aralia snorted. "Flirt." Rayne giggled at the suppressed amusement in her voice.

"Well, I'm Rayne, not that I should be talking to a flirt like you. I have a reputation to uphold, y'know.," Rayne said grandly, tossing her hair back mock-arrogantly. The boys jumped as the door slammed open, revealing a triumphantly grinning slim black teen, who was absently tugging his dreadlocks back from his face, bouncing on his toes with suppressed energy.

"Fred! George! There you are! I've been looking for you for _hours_!"

Fred and George merely laughed at the dark boy standing in the doorway. "Lee, you couldn't have been looking for us for _hours_, because the gate's only been open for _one_ hour."

"HEY! Who's the American Babes?" He stepped in front of the two girls, leaning close without much care for manners to get a better look at their rather unusual facial tattoos. George grabbed him by the collar and pulled him out of their faces just as Rayne opened her mouth to say something cutting to make him retreat. Fred spoke what was on both the boys' minds, causing Aralia and Rayne to giggle.

"HEY! Hands off, we saw them first!"

"We're not possessions, y'know," Aralia murmured, and George looked at her quickly, unable to tell from her quiet voice if she was truly upset, or just teasing. Her face didn't help any though; calm and quiet, it was also a perfect poker face. Fred winked at her.

"Anyway, Lee, this is Rayne, and her sister. They're new." Rayne rolled her eyes.

"Rayne and Aralia Tutela, we're transferring, from America." Aralia gave no signal that she had noticed the flirtatious smile George was sending her. Rayne, however, was twirling her finger around her temple in the universal sign for lunatic, as Fred spaced again.

"Nice to meet you," Lee offered his hand in turn to both girls. They grinned at him.

"Likewise." They sat in silence for a while, Aralia leaning against Rayne, almost asleep. She sat up suddenly.

"Oh! Thank you for getting our trunks, boys." George interrupted her with a wave of his hand.

"The least we could do for such beautiful girls. Think nothing of it." Both girls blushed fiercely.

'George has the hots for you bad 'Lia,' Rayne murmured, amused.

'I think I figured that out on my own, funnily enough. But can we trust them, Ray? So much is different here, will we be able to get along?' she toyed uneasily with her braid, thinking back to her training back in America. She already knew that she would have to continue her studies as a shaman on her own. She missed her teacher so much, but at least she could visit his spirit, unlike Rayne, who never had been good at that kind of thing. She could view the past through the eyes of those who had been there, and could sometimes glimpse the snatches of the future, but the present might as well have been written in hieroglyphics for all she could read it. Actually, she would have been able to read the hieroglyphics easier.

_Let go of your worries, your hopes, your dreams, let go of your very identities, for these hold you in this world. Simply be. Do not think; simply feel. The past and the future do not exist, there is only now. There is only the moment and the will to see it. See without the preconceptions that your life has given you. Only then can you journey safely through the spirit realms. Before you know others, you must first know yourself._

_Yes, Master._ Aralia was jerked back into awareness of her surroundings be an arm sliding around her shoulders, and she looked into George's worried eyes. "You OK babe? You were drifting away. That's not a real good idea on a train." She nodded solemnly.

"Thank you." Aralia murmured. Rayne raised an eyebrow. Why were they all of the sudden so close? They had just met, and already they were using pet names. Rayne closed her eyes and refocused, when she opened them everyone in the room had taken on different colored glows around their person. Both of the boys were emanating a light lavender-rose glow, though Fred's was slowly fading back and forth between the lavender and a lime green. Rayne rolled her eyes, and turned to her sister. Because of the closer emotional connection, she got a mental image from her perusal of her sister. Aralia knelt in a grassy field, clutching a boquet of the star of bethlehem, surrounded by sprigs of lavender. She frowned, blinking her eyes rapidly to pull away from the mental connection, and then closed them again, refocusing her minds eye once more. When she opened them the emotional auras had faded. She shrugged slightly. The only surprising thing about that was the lavender in Aralia's boquet. Lavender signified both devotion and distrust. She gasped as Fred shook his head violently, clearing his thoughts.

" Don't be so uptight, were not going to bite you," he said rather seriously. George pipes in with a cheery tone.

"Unless of course you want us too…." Aralia poked him in the side. He yelped quietly, and leaned over to kiss her cheek, wrapping his arms around her waist. She relaxed against his chest, for some reason comfortable with him, despite their short acquaintance. Closing her eyes, she quickly fell asleep, secure in the knowledge that between them, George and Rayne wouldn't let anything happen to her.

Fred reached across the seat to where Rayne was curled up on the seat and took the braid into his hand, allowing the black, white and purple strand to fall through his fingers. "So does this mean something, or is it just a fashion statement?"

"It's complicated. 'Lia's better at explaining it than I am." Rayne reached to take the braid back, her hand brushing his; she got a momentary glimpse of his inner emotions. Though the aura never lies, what she learned through the touch showed her that even though he was perverted in his own mind, his intentions were nothing less than gentlemanly. But, as they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

* * *

"'Lia. Wake up 'Lia." George gently shook her shoulder. "C'mon 'Lia, it's time to go." She opened her eyes and looked around sleepily. Fred and Rayne were standing in the doorway, waiting for their respective twins.

"Come on sissy, we need to get changed, were almost there." Rayne had a set of black robes over her arm, Fred and George had already changed, and Aralia stood, wondering how George had managed to move her off of his lap to change without waking her.

"Alright I'm coming" she said. Rayne handed her a set of robes and they set off toward the back of the train and the bathrooms.

Once they were gone, George turned to his brother and grinned like a kid in the candy store. "Oh wipe that look off your face, you're giving me headache!" George waved him off.

"Just because you're not as smooth as me don't mean you can get mad when your girl don't trust you." Fred balked.

"And it's my fault her sister stuck her hands to my forehead and made my thoughts public?!" George laid a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"No, it's your fault for getting all glazed eyed on us…. Speaking of which, I'd like to know how she did that."

'That's for us to know, and you to find out . . . if you're nice.' Aralia's voice echoed through the compartment, filled with gentle amusement.

"CRAP! She's LISTENING to us!?" George doubled over laughing at Fred's indignation.

'Just don't say anything bad about me. Ray can't hear you. She don't want to hear you, actually.' Aralia laughed to them, her voice a musical mezzo-soprano as it faded out.

"Damn, not only are they super hot, but they're psychics too."

"And super dangerous if you cross me or my sister, so don't fuck up boys." Rayne opened the door and stepped back into the compartment, closely followed by Aralia. They had donned a few pieces of jewelry in addition to the form fitting black robes, the Hogwarts crest resting over their hearts. There were two piercing in the lobes, the bottom one supporting a heavy looking pair of feathers, the top one a smaller set of hoops. In the cartilage, both had 3 onyx studs in the left and 2 in the right. Rayne had a nose piercing on the left side, and when she smiled, Fred noticed a tongue ring, though Aralia had opted out on these adornments.

"Aww, but I was totally looking forward to it!" Fred whined. Aralia raised an eyebrow but said nothing, Rayne however laughed.

"You haven't gotten that far yet Hun, keep the python in its cage if you don't want it fed to the mongoose." She said playfully swiping at his face, her long, sharpened nails missing flesh by a few inches.

George stepped up and took Aralia's arm. "May I escort you, my lady?" She giggled as he led her off the train, gallantly helping her step down. He led her over to the carriages, Fred and Rayne following close behind. Fred had offered his arm to her in such a boyishly clumsy way that she couldn't help but laugh and accept; he helped her into the carriage, grinning like a small schoolboy finally getting to talk to his first crush. Once in their seats, Aralia and George settled in with ease, as if they had been dating for years. Fred was slightly awkward as he slid his arm around Rayne's hips and drew her closer to him. She grinned at him, but drew away slightly. He pouted, earning himself a laugh from George and Aralia.

Rayne adopted a bored and slightly exasperated look and sighed dramatically before laying her head on his shoulder to nap on the short ride to the castle.

* * *

On their way through the main doors, a teacher caught their attention, and motioned for them to wait. "As this is your first year at Hogwarts, you will need to be sorted before you can join the others for the feast. Follow me please." Fred and George attempted to follow but professor McGonagall shook her head and shooed them off. They obediently left to take their seats at the Gryffindor table.

The professor lead them off into a small room to the side of the great hall which was currently filled with the children that must be the newest class. Rayne and Aralia, leaned against the wall, bored, though the children's palpable nervousness was almost as amusing as it was irritating. After a few minutes, the children were led out, leaving the two girls alone. Aralia tilted her head. She could hear an elderly male voice speaking from a distance away. She mentally poked Rayne, opening their connection so that she could hear it as well.'That's the headmaster, isn't it?' she asked silently. Rayne sent back a vague agreement. After a few more moments, the older woman touched her arm gently, startling her out of the slight trance she'd accidentally entered trying to decipher what the old man was saying.

"If you would follow me, you're to be sorted now." Aralia nodded, not bothering to speak. She was still trying to get over the slight shock that the abrupt cessation of the trance had caused her. "Ms. Aralia, you first. " she said, lifting the hat and allowing her to take a seat on the stool. The hat fit perfectly around her head, she waited patiently, wondering what exactly would happen. She could feel the animated hat poking around in her head, and had to forcefully subdue the impulse to throw it out. Nothing was allowed into her mind without her permission.

'OOOH! We haven't had anyone this psychically advanced in a couple hundred years. _Let _me see. Very in tune with the spiritual world this one, and very sneaky, definitely clever. Its an automatic-' "**Slytherin**!" the hat announced. The professor removed the hat and Rayne took a seat and grinned to herself when the hat began analyzing her, knowing that Aralia was moving towards her house table. 'Ohh! A twin! Nothing new, but I can see the bond between you and your sister even more vividly in your mind than in hers…. Hmmm, definitely more worldly than the other, no doubt about that, very talented, entirely intimidating at times, I can see. Must be-' "**Slytherin**!" it announced. They exchanged a smile as Rayne walked over to sit next to her sister. They took a seat next to a blonde haired boy whose silver eyes were scanning the gathered crowd as if looking for someone he shouldn't be. If he had any friends, they hadn't showed up as of yet, so the girls helped themselves to a seat on either side of him. He glanced at them out of the corner of his eyes, taking in their exotic appearance, before introducing himself, and pointing out people of interest around them. Looking around, Aralia met George's eyes for a moment, and shrugged and winked at his shocked expression. 'Hey, I'm still the same person I was before,' she whispered to him, putting in the extra effort to make it audible to him, since she could tell that his bond with his twin hadn't developed enough for purposeful mental communication yet. Honestly, the bond between her and Rayne wouldn't have either, but the bonding with Raven and Arion had caused their bond to develop faster than it would have naturally, even with all the extra training they had as part of their protector lessons from their grandfather. She watched him slowly relax, then he nodded and turned back to his friends.

Draco chose this moment to turn to her. "I haven't seen you before. Where are you from?" Aralia turned her gaze to him, taking in his pallid features and air of false superiority that surrounded him. "My sister and I are from the states. We've moved just recently." She informed him. Behind him Rayne had refocused her eyes to see auras once again, and noticed that he emanated the pale color of a morning glory in full bloom. She also noted how he kept glancing at the Gryffindor table, putting two and two together she assumed that he had a massive crush on someone his social acquaintances would be far less than pleased to hear about.

Not noticing Rayne do the same, Aralia shifted her focus, and saw the swirls surrounding him were marigold and a light rose pink, streaked with the soft hues of the eglantine rose. 'Oh, the poor boy . . ..' She looked him over again, and saw how his self-important attitude was a cover for severe self-esteem and abandonment issues.

-

After the feast, on their way out of the great hall, with Draco showing them the way to the dorms, Aralia was suddenly pulled aside by a grinning George. He leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips. "Goodnight babe. I'll see you tomorrow, we're sure to have classes together." Rayne poked her mentally.

'Come on you love-struck pup, we're gonna get lost if we don't keep up with Blondie,' she met her sister's eyes from the end of the hall before ducking into the doorway to the dungeons Draco was holding open for her.

'I'll be there in a minute. And you know I won't get lost as long as you know where you're going. Just _you_ keep up with him.' Rayne poked her once more and channeled her warnings about being careful before the door closed behind her. Draco kept talking about politics and who to not be seen with if they want to be respected Slytherins. Gryffindors being at the top of the list of course.

"Listen, I have no interest in all this political mumbo jumbo, I don't do cliques and neither does Aralia." She snorted in a very unladylike fashion and added. "'Lia even less than me I suppose." Draco stopped and stared at her as though she had just sprouted branches out of her ears. "Don't even look at me in that tone of voice, I'll not have it. You can answer me one question though." She poked him on the nose and successfully managed to shift his expression from a one of disgusted surprise to that of curiosity.

"No, you cant have my uhh… what do you call it in the states? Digits? But you can have directions to my room." He offered in a very pompous and flirtatious way. Rayne flicked him on the nose and laughed.

"Sorry Hun, not my type, but you could tell me about the boy you've been staring at all evening?" He flushed bright red, and glared at her.

"I have not been staring at any boys." He stated flatly. "I was merely attempting not to stare at you or your sister, you're both so beautiful . . .."

Rayne laughed. "Whatever. You were so staring at him. I can describe him if you want . . .." When he remained silent, she continued, "He had black-" Draco shushed her fiercely, grabbing her arm and dragging her into a nearby room.

Draco was beet red by this point, and Rayne would have sworn there was steam coming out of his ears.

"Do not under any circumstances mention it to ANYONE." He hissed at her angrily. Rayne grinned her I'm-up-to-no-good grin and raised her right hand.

"I'll tell none." She said, allowing him to calm slightly Draco didn't look reassured.

"I swear if you ever even let the implications slip from those overly plump little lips of yours you will wish you had never left the bloody states!" he threatened.

Rayne laughed and promised again. "No implications shall pass my lips." She said with a grin that Draco did not like.

"And no funny business with your sister either, no writing notes or spells to communicate anything even remotely close to the subject." He added. Rayne let her smile melt from her face.

"Dammit!" she swore then adopted a fake sigh. "Okey, okey, sworn!" she was laughing hysterically behind her mask because he had not considered telepathic connections, though Draco bought the facade. He relaxed considerably.

"How do you know?" She gave him a look.

"Because it was frikkin' obvious! I'm surprised nobody else has caught on yet. You were watching him all the time. It didn't take long to figure out where you were staring. I think 'Lia noticed too, and this level of consciousness isn't exactly her specialty."

Draco gave no sign that he had misunderstood though he did a double take anyway. "She's a spiritual?" he asked. Rayne rolled her eyes.

"Tell me about him already!" she pressed. Draco gave her a suspicious look.

"What's to tell? He's the hottest thing in school, not only physically but socially as well. Besides moi of course. But the thing is, the girls are all over him, and even if he wasn't my sworn enemy it would still be a challenge just to get anywhere near him. The old fart has him guarded like the golden boy everyone thinks he is. The bastard isn't the boy-who-lived; he's the lucky-son-of-a-bitch-that-just-refuses-to-give-up-and-die." He rolled his eyes.

"Why are you enemies?"

"Because on the first day of school, he insulted me, and he always picks fights with me."

"Then why do you like him?"

"Because he's hot! I said that already!"

"You don't obsess over somebody like you are just because they're hot."

"What do you know?"

"I know people. And I know that you've been pining over him forever, I can see it." Rayne put a hand on her hips and waited patiently for him to spill.

"Then you should know." He said evasively. Rayne said nothing and didn't move. He fidgeted and backtracked. "If you can see as much as you claim then why are you asking me?" he snapped. Rayne grinned.

"Because admitting you have a problem is the first step to solving it." She countered.

"I don't have a bloody problem!" he shouted at her.

"Obviously you do!" came a voice from outside the door. Rayne laughed, then continued.

"Well the problem may not be bloody yet, but if you don't get a move on I can guarantee it will be soon." Draco looked at her.

"How do you mean?"

"Your gonna get jealous and go psycho on the first male love he shows off in public," she stated matter-of-factly. "And you're wound up like a Chinese yo-yo, first person that mentions him at the wrong moment is gonna get an ass full of your foot. If that's not bloody then I don't know what is," she said motioning toward his rather large feet.

"Fine! Why do you think I like him then?!" He walked over to stare out of the enchanted window.

"I think that you like him because he's the only person your age that's ever stood up to you." Draco had nothing to say, it was true that he ran his so called friends and that most of them talked about him behind his back. Harry was the only person that had stood up to him to his face. The weasel dork wouldn't even speak to him if Harry weren't there. But he just had to rub it in Draco's nose that Harry had chosen **him** over Draco. And the rest of the school either ignored him, or they were afraid of him. Noticing the pensive look on his face, Rayne quietly sat down beside him, and waited for him to say something.

"That's really disturbing you know," he said, glaring at her.

"How so?" she asked innocently.

"I've known these people my entire life and no one can pick up on it. You and your freaky sister show up and immediately figure out the one secret I would never willingly confide in anyone."

"You willingly confided in me," she observed.

"The hell I did! You figured it out and forced it out of me. I could sue your skirt off for that you know."

"But you won't, 'cause I'm so adorable and loveable. And trust me, there are easier ways to get me out of my skirt than involving lawyers." She paused for a second then added, "Unless he's really cute…. then you might have a bit of luck there." He looked startled, then giggled.

"Only the best and cutest for the heir of all things Malfoy." Rayne laughed richly at that.

"Well I suppose you're out of luck in this category. Aralia has already taken to one of the Weasley brothers." She smiled and shrugged. "Oh well."

"Now tell me about your sister." Draco demanded suddenly. Rayne shook her head in the universal sign for surrender in a frustrating situation. "You're not going to let her be are you? Well as you can see we are twins, and we've had a lot of training in areas of magic that are not taught here."

"Like what?"

"Well, a lot of stuff. 'Lia's more into the odd stuff than I am though. The spirit gifts are rare, but apparently there are more of them in America than there are here. We found her a teacher easily enough, and they plan to keep contact because we didn't think it would be a good idea to switch her to a different teacher now, even if we could find one, which we couldn't. Most of the spirit walkers in England end up just learning divination and stuff like that, and the rest aren't interested in teaching."

"How's she keeping close enough contact with her teacher for him to continue teaching her?"

"That's her secret. All she's told me –or our parents for that matter- is that we don't have to worry about finding her a new teacher." She shrugged, looking up as Aralia slipped in the door.

"Ray? C'mon, it's sleep time, babe. Draco, if you'd be so kind?" Aralia gently tried to pull them both from the room.

"I want more answers first." Draco demanded petulantly. They apparently could tell anyway, so what was the harm in acting out a little while they were alone together? So long as it didn't become a habit . . . . .

Rayne huffed. "But I don't wanna sit in this dank little hellhole you call a classroom!" she pouted, stamping her foot. Draco raised an eyebrow at her.

"Please tell me you did not just stamp your foot? I thought they only did that in books and movies?"

Aralia laughed openly, her voice musical in Draco's ears. Rayne ignored it, though it took Draco a moment to recover from its glamour. "Well it had to come from somewhere!" she said cheerfully.

"Fine, swear that you will answer five questions for me, and I shall guide you to the dorms."

"And if we don't?"

"Then I shall sit here all night."

"And pout like a five-year-old," the girls chorused. He glared at them, sitting on the edge of a desk, and crossing his leg, putting one foot on his knee.

"Is he really serious? I thought the Malfoy family was above pouting?" Rayne asked her sister.

"I suppose so, but you have to admit he does look rather adorable when he pouts." Aralia replied. Rayne nodded in agreement, while Draco simply stared at them stubbornly.

"Yeah I know. Too bad he's no straighter than a circle." Rayne sighed dramatically. Draco raised and eyebrow at this, then offered his own opinion.

"I'm not so sure about the circles you've found, but I assure you I'm much straighter than most circles that I've found." Aralia and Rayne looked at each other then burst out laughing simultaneously

"That made no sense at all!" Aralia managed through bouts of laughter. Draco flushed a light shade of pink, which immediately turned to a bright red when Rayne followed her sister's comment with her own.

"You're having wet dreams about your arch rival, who happens to be packing some rather…gifted genetics, your about as straight as a rainbow, just lacking the pretty colors, and you haven't gotten your hands on the gold at the end just yet." She paused for a second, her eyes refocusing, then starts doubling over laughing. Aralia waited patiently for her sister to calm down while Draco looked at her quizzically and continued to ask her over and over again what the hell was so funny.

"He's got a golden prince Albert!" She manages after a long fifteen minutes.

"You know…. gold at the end of the rainbow? That is so ironic!" Rayne succumbed to another fit of hysterics. There was a loud bang against the door, followed by deep bellows of laughter.

"All right George, We know you're out there." Aralia opened the door and the redheaded and temporarily red-faced boy fell into the classroom laughing as hard as Rayne. "He's never going to let Harry forget this." Aralia translated.

Draco snatched him up by his collar and stared him in the eyes. "If you say a damn word to anyone Weasel, you will rue the day you were born!" he threatened. Aralia, stepped in between the two, then snorted very un-lady like at George's thought, which cause him to gasp for air.

"He's thinking that he will rue the day he was born if he ever walks in on the two of you, should you ever have the balls big enough to say something."

Draco looked quizzically at George. "Are you implying anything Weasley?"

"Implying anything?" George laughed. "I didn't even say anything!" He turned to Aralia. "Were you implying anything, babe?" She looked at him innocently.

"How could you even suggest such a thing of me?" she asked in a mockingly appalled voice, placing her hand over her heart. There was a brief pause when the gears turned in Draco's head.

"RAYNE!" he bellowed.

"What?" she asked, giving him an innocent look.

"You swore!"

"You said nothing implied and don't tell anyone. I didn't imply a damn thing. I straight out said it plain and I didn't tell anyone, I was teasing _you_ about it. That was not covered in your terms, Hun. Either you're loosing your touch, or those blonde roots run a bit too deep into your head." She said far too seriously.

"HE HAD A BLONDE MOMENT!" George and Aralia sang out together, then paused in shock. "Wrong twin!" they said together, then burst out laughing.

"Didn't I tell you to lay off the gilly-weed, Draco?" A greasy drawl preceded the potions master through the door. Aralia, Rayne and George laughed, as Draco managed a ghostly white that put the bloody baron to shame. Snape looked at George and commented in an offhand voice, "I'm not sure what you're doing in my dungeons, Mr. Weasley, but unless you wish to spend a weekend in detention with me, I suggest you return to your own common room at once." George smirked.

"And spend untold amount of hours licking the slime out of your cauldron? I think I'll pass, thank you. G'night babe." He dropped a kiss on Aralia's lips, and vanished.

"The three of you should be in the common rooms yourselves." Snape stated, looking between the twins, who had drawn together, and Draco.

"We were having a discussion that I would rather the general population not be privy to, godfather." Draco said stiffly.

"And yet you did not think to cast any kind of anti-eavesdropping spells. I'm disappointed in you, Draco. Get to the common room now." Draco bolted. The girls followed at a more leisurely pace, knowing that the professor would correct them if they lost their way.

* * *

In their dorm, Aralia and Rayne pulled their beds together until the headboards touched. There were only two other girls in their dorm, so everybody had a lot of space, but they still felt more comfortable sleeping close together. They lay awake for an hour more, talking about the day and the Weasley twins, as well as Draco and Harry. No one heard, because they spoke in their minds. They fell asleep soon enough; their eyes too heavy to hold open.

* * *

Dawn broke the next day with a faint ray shining through a window enchanted on the wall to mimic a natural window, since they were underground, shining upon the girls' faces, illuminating their tattoos. Aralia's was one of a tribal eye where her third eye would have dominated on her forehead. Rayne's a silver tribal vine emerging from her left eye and curling around her cheek and jaw, then reaching up toward her hairline.

They opened their silver and amethyst eyes simultaneously, and grinned to each other. Gemstone purple hair splayed over the pillows and under the blankets in messy tangles. Rayne giggled at the sleepy look Aralia gave her. 'Rough lesson, Hun?'

Aralia groaned as she turned to find her hairbrush. 'You have no idea. Journeying that far is HARD.' she complained petulantly.

'You're just jealous that I can travel in spirit easier than you can.'

'Too true sis. Too true. It's not fair.'

'Life's not fair, honeybunches.' Aralia made a face at the nickname, then smoothed her expression as they entered the Slytherin common room. Draco was sitting on a couch, apparently waiting for them, flanked by two rather large, slow-looking boys who looked to be about the same year as him.

"This is Crabbe, and Goyle." He gestured to the two boys, then got up and headed out, the other two following like watchdogs.

'There's something off about the way those boys are acting. Their minds aren't on level with people who usually act like that.' Rayne commented curiously.

'Want me to look into it, sis?' Aralia offered, knowing that she would now that Rayne had brought it up, whether she said she wanted her to or not.

'If you wish.' She motioned and they too left the common room to find their first class.

* * *

"ALLO LOVES!" the cheery voice of George Weasley echoed through the great hall, though barely heard through the ruckus of morning traffic. Aralia turned with a wide smile on her face. Fred sauntered up to Rayne and threw his arm around her shoulder, smiling to her and making a valiant effort to win her over, as his brother had won Aralia. Rayne shrugged away, grinning at him. Draco raised an eyebrow.

"The weasel twins are awful familiar, aren't they? Well, one can only expect so much in decorum from such an oversized family of blood traitors," he drawled. Rayne slapped him soundly, leaving a bright red hand print on his cheek.

"How rotten of you! And you claim high honor in the wizarding world?" Rayne exclaimed while everyone nearby gaped at her. No one slapped a Malfoy like that.

"Have you never heard of the golden rule Draco?" Aralia asked. The whole student body was staring at Rayne in shock, except for Aralia and George. Fred was grinning ear to ear. Draco was frozen for a moment then regained his composure.

"HOW DARE YOU?!" he exclaimed, puffing up like a balloon.

"I dare just like this! I don't want to hear something so rotten out of you anymore! Your too smart for that!" the crowed gasped collectively, waiting for Draco's next move.

" I am the sole heir to the Malfoy fortune! My father is an important man, and I will not be treated like a child!"

Rayne raised an eyebrow then spoke. "So what you mean to tell me is that you're the sole heir to a fortune you cannot take with you when you die, hiding behind your fathers reputation and you cant even manage to find an excuse for your childish behavior to make you look good? Your immature Draco and your never going to get what you want acting like that." Draco reddened and pulled his wand.

"I'LL SHOW YOU HOW TO RESPECT YOUR BETTERS!" he screamed. Two gold jets of light hit him square in the chest before anyone else knew that he had drawn, Aralia and Rayne's voices echoed through the growing crowd like a poisoned melody. Draco was sent flying into Crabbe and Goyle. Both girls stood rigid, one arm condemningly flung out, pointing at Draco, matching images of avenging fury. Then Aralia spoke, her words echoing through the Hall, though she spoke quietly, but none could understand her. She seemed to be speaking to Draco, but if nobody could even identify the language, there was no way he could understand her, was there? But Draco understood perfectly.

"You shall not threaten us, k'talin. You shall not display your ignorance and bad upbringing any longer. All are here for a purpose, and none deserve your ridicule. I know not how you were taught, nor do I care. You shall learn now, and learn quickly." He looked dazed.

"I knew there was a reason I was drawn to you two," he murmured in the same language, again shocking the rest of the school.

"All right! Break it up and head to class!! That's quite enough!" professors McGonagall and Snape had arrived and were now ushering kids to class. "All of you. To my office. Now." Snape ordered to both sets of twins as well as Draco and his cronies.

* * *

"That display was utterly uncalled for and entirely immature. What in the world were you doing?" Snape questioned the teens; Aralia and Rayne were calm and reserved, allowing the others to explain their version of events. Draco was distracted, a little out of it. Crabbe and Goyle both were eager to make the girls look bad, and Fred and George did their best to tell it as it was. When Snape turned his attentions to Aralia and Rayne, they echoed in his mind the same thought. 'We will not speak in the presence of the others on a matter of this importance.' He blinked at them, but continued to stare at them expectantly.

"We will explain ourselves to Draco, but no other being here currently has the right or the need to know. Suffice it to say that Draco received a much needed disciplining. His attitude cannot remain what it is now, or he will be called to an accounting, and believe us when we say that this is not pleasant, nor are the accountants punishments light."

"And just what would he receive punishment for, should that happen?"

"His disrespect of life."

"I respect life!" Draco exclaimed. Aralia gave him a patient look and explained to him within his mind.

'You do not respect the life of others, nor do you respect yourself enough to look beyond superficial and childish stereotypes. You have much to learn.' Then both retreated behind the barriers of their minds and refused to speak any more on the subject until Snape, the Weasley twins, and Crabbe and Goyle were gone.

The students left, but Snape was still demanding an explanation. "Just tell him already, he's my fucking godfather!" Aralia stared at Draco, Rayne at Snape. They contemplated silently, then began the long explanation that would lead Draco to his first lessons in protection.

"But some things we must explain have no words, except in the pure language. You may get lost. We'll explain as best we can, but there are some things that you will not be able to understand." Rayne said to Snape. He nodded reluctantly. Draco looked at her expectantly.

"Draco, when you were young, you adopted strays, and tried to take care of everybody and everything, didn't you?" He nodded, looking surprised. "What happened?" The sympathy in Aralia's voice was almost tangible.

"My father disapproved. He said such behavior was unbecoming to the Malfoy heir. He punished me whenever I showed concern for the welfare of anything except myself, and my mother and father. I have no other family. So I learned to act the way I do now from my father's training. Today was the first time anyone forced me to see that my actions were not accepted. Father taught me that there would always be jealous people, but you weren't jealous, you were angry. The only person who ever got angry with me for acting that way was Potter . . .." The girls shared a knowing smile, while Snape looked vaguely confused. The conversation\lesson continued, including Snape when they could, but as promised, he was lost most of the time.

In the common room, Aralia handed Draco a small vial of potion before he could escape to bed. "Drink it right before you go to bed. It will help you sleep." He looked at her oddly, but didn't argue with her. As he turned to his dorm, Aralia and Rayne shared a secretive smile. The potion would put him to sleep, but it would also make him more open to dreams and visions. At this point, it would be the easiest way to teach him.

* * *

"_What are you doing here?" Draco asked, looking around the grove they were standing in._

"_We're here to teach you. This is the easiest way to teach you now. We've explained all we can, now there are things we must show you." The girls each reached out and took one of his hands, leading him along a path that he hadn't noticed until that moment. They reached a small clearing, where a middle-aged man was seated upon a large boulder. _

"_Who do you bring, my daughters?" he asked calmly, looking down at them. Draco tried to shrink back from his gaze, but the girls held tight to his hands, not letting him hide._

"_We bring a new Keeper, Master," Aralia answered. "He is in need of new teaching, to overcome the harsh teachings of his father." Draco looked down for a moment, then gathered his courage and looked up to meet the eyes of the man on the boulder. For a moment, it felt as though the man were searching his soul, looking in through his eyes. It was a very unnerving experience, but he couldn't look away. After a moment, the man broke contact, looking satisfied._

"_Well enough. Come cricket." Aralia giggled and stepped forward, as he slid down from his boulder. He laid his hand on her forehead, and after a moment, she wobbled, and almost fell. Rayne stepped forwards to catch her, apparently used to this happening. The two carried her into a nearby pocket of trees, laying her on an unusually thick patch of moss, covering her with a blanket that Ray pulled out from behind a log. She caught Draco's confused look._

"_This is Master's dream place. He created it. Everything is as he needs it, and this is not the first time this has happened, not by a long shot. She is in a deeper sleep, asleep to dreams even. But she is alright, and she will wake in the morning unusually refreshed."_

"_As will you, my new-found son." The Master had listened to her explanation, and walked up behind Draco without his noticing, laying his hands on Draco's shoulders. Draco started, but did not attempt to pull away. Rayne nodded in approval, as the teacher moved one hand over his eyebrow. Thoughts and images flooded his mind, rushing faster than he could follow. He swayed, the chaos in his mind giving him vertigo. The master chuckled as he caught him. 'You will need to rest to assimilate your new information. It may take many days for you to truly understand it. But when you do, you will be able to find me whenever you need me. Do not allow pride to keep you from asking, either of me, or of the girls. We three will always be here for you. Now sleep, youngling." And he lost his grip on this odd reality, fading into black._

Rayne woke at 6 the next morning, feeling very pleased with herself. Draco was on the way to his enlightenment, Aralia would know how to handle him, and she had gotten out of the mental crunch because she was needed to make sure the other two were not disturbed. She quickly warded Aralia's bed so that nobody could disturb her, then hurried to Draco's dorm, warding his bed a little stronger than she had 'Lia's. Then she reached out and contacted Snape. 'Aralia and Draco have both received a lot of information in a small amount of time. They must not be disturbed until they wake on their own. I will be staying here to make sure that they are not bothered.' She felt his irritated acknowledgment, and settled down in the common room with a book. She would feel it if anyone approached either bed, long before either sleeper noticed the intruder.

-

-

-

For the auras, we used an adaption of the language of flowers. The definitions are as follow:

Lavender rose- love at first sight

lime blossoms(lime green in story)- fornication (used as lust)

morning glory- love in vain

light pink rose- Desire, passion, joy of life, youth, energy

marigold- pain and grief

eglantine rose- a wound to heal

Star of bethlehem- hope

lavender- distrust, devotion

-

Also, on the auras, Aralia sees long term, Rayne sees short term. For example, Rayne would see it better if someone wanted a casual fuck or in Draco's case if they wanted someone they couldn't have, and Aralia would see it better if they were in love with some one or pining after someone like Draco was. What they see is based on their personalities. Rayne is more impatient, fix-it-right-now sort of person, while Aralia has more patience and can hold to plans that develop over years with far less frustration than Rayne.


	2. Chapter 2

The morning had dawned with a lazy brilliance that accompanied the fall of summer and the transition into winter. The air had cooled and the trees were changing colors, the students settled into their classes, and the house quidditch games had begun. All in all, life was good for the students of Hogwarts, not counting homework and, for two Gryffindors, their missing girlfriends.

"Fred! Hello! Pay attention!" George knocked on his brother's head while trying to yell past a piece of toast in his mouth.

"Close your trap George! No one wants to see that!" Hermione complained, then turned to see where Fred was staring. George followed her line of sight as Draco entered the great hall, flanked not by Crabbe and Goyle, but by the Tutela twins. The trio was a sight to behold: both the Weasley boys were entranced, and though no one else noticed, Harry had also taken a special notice of the trio.

Aralia and Rayne were dressed in similar form fitting dresses that looked like a Greek design. It flowed around their athletic figures and settled to perfection around their shoulder and hips. The shoulder straps were thin silver chains that held the fabric just above school regulations and just below modesty. Long pieces of silken fabric hung from the chains and fell over their forearms. The dresses fell to ankle length and the girls walked barefoot on their toes. They carried an ethereal air about them. Rayne's silver tattoo stretched the length of the left side of her face, while Aralia's glittered over the third eye.

Draco was dressed in white Japanese-style loungewear, also barefooted. Though he did not carry an air of otherworldliness like the girls, there was something definitely different. A positive change in the way he carried himself and regarded others, not with a sneer but with a comforting smile. All in all, the school in general was shocked. They had not seen much of the three in the month since school had started, not since the very public dressing-down the girls had given Draco on the second day of school. They had been in classes, but had been very distant from the student body, responding almost absently to those around them, and none of the three could be found any time besides classes and meals. Fred and George had spent a lot of time sitting with them in class and at meals, and in the library whenever they could find them there. They were almost to the point of asking Harry for the map back so they could find their girlfriends to spend time with them. Both were hopeful that this attention-grabbing entrance was a sign that they were past whatever had been distracting them, and that they would have more time for their boyfriends now.

Hermione was snapping her finger in the faces of all three boys, attempting to call them back to reality. Fred shook his head and met his brother's gaze.

"They're not hot, girls are hot. Aralia and Rayne are goddesses." He said. George finished his thought.

"You're absolutely right brother. They are positively divine!" Aralia and Rayne strolled to the Gryffindor table with Draco close behind.

"Not quite loves, but you're on the right track," she giggled. Draco raised an eyebrow.

'Why are you telling them?' he poked Aralia in the middle of the back.

'We're not telling them. At least not yet. Ray's just flirting. There's almost no possibility that they would ever figure it out.' Draco relaxed. He wasn't certain he wanted anybody else to know about what they were. He had advanced rapidly, but his jealousy about letting anyone in on the first positive thing in his life kept him back.

Fred grinned at Rayne, remembering the way she hadn't hesitated to slap Draco for his rudeness, or that she was bluntly honest, and hard to get. George rose from his seat and wrapped his Slytherin half in a tight hug, then planted a kiss on her lips. She giggled, and laid her head on his shoulder for a moment. Fred gave Rayne a hopeful look and she humored him with a kiss to the forehead. He twisted his head and caught her lips briefly, earning a rough poke in the ear for his efforts.

"What? Can you honestly say you didn't expect me to try?" he asked her, turning his puppy dog eyes on her. She dissolved into giggles and tweaked his ear.

"No, I really can't," she giggled. He smiled, and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"You need to get a girlfriend," Fred commented to Draco. Aralia and Rayne dissolved into giggles, while Draco glared at them.

"I'll have you know, that I am perfectly capable of finding a significant other." He wrapped his arms around both Aralia and Rayne and grinned a very sexy grin. "And besides, why would I need to go looking any father than my own dorms?"

Fred and George stared blankly at him. "They're in your dorms?" they said together.

"Well, actually, he's in ours."

George passed over the obvious thought to say, "You're staying in the girls dorms?!" Rayne laughed, and took Draco's arm from around her waist to move back to Fred's side, to his obvious pleasure. Aralia poked Draco in the side and wiggled away, George claiming her hips immediately and possessively, laying his chin on her shoulder. "There is nothing romantic about that in the least bit. Now will you calm down?" Rayne poked at Fred's cheek, Aralia patting George's flaming red hair. Neither looked reassured.

"There is nothing romantic in the slightest bit. Do you not see how prudish Rayne is? And Aralia practically melts around Fred." Draco reiterated. George shot him a death glare, arm tightening around Aralia.

" She better not be melting around Fred! I will not have my brother stealing my girlfriends!" George exclaimed. Rayne laughed.

"Girl_friends_?" Aralia asked affronted. "I sincerely hope _not_, and besides, Fred melts around _Rayne_, not the other way around." Draco looked between the two couples.

"Oops." He said unapologetically. Aralia burst out laughing, pulling George and Draco to sit down. "We can't sit here. It's _Gryffindor_ table."

"Rayne and I are going to have breakfast with our boyfriends. And you are staying with us, remember?" Draco pouted. He didn't want to eat at Gryffindor table. It would be much harder to stare at Harry without being noticed. Aralia smirked at Draco from under George's protective embrace. Rayne poked Harry in the ear.

"Whasa on your mind?" she asked, Draco finally noticed his sullen look.

"I want one." He pouted.

"Want one what?" Ron asked, rising from his plate for the first time. Harry pointed to the two sets of twins.

"One of those." He said. Draco gave him a funny look.

Hermione piped up,. "I don't think Aralia or Rayne are intending to share, Harry," she said, then slapped her hands to her face. "Iips…I wasn't supposed to say that…" Draco gave Harry a questioning smile, his eyebrow raised. Harry blushed and became extremely interested with the contents of his plate.

"Well…." Aralia drew out the word thoughtfully, "Rayne knew….I knew…. And I do believe Draco was hoping." Ron popped Hermione on the head.

"He's never going to tell us anything anymore!" he complained. He blinked, as if rewinding the conversation in his head. "What do you mean Draco was hoping?" Draco glared at Aralia.

'Thanks a lot, telling my best enemy I want to bone him till he passes out, and telling the one person who will be the biggest problem in me getting Harry. Now I'll have no chance.' Aralia giggled, earning herself funny looks from Hermione and Ron. Harry was still ignoring everybody.

"Wha's so funny? I wanna laugh too." Ron inquired. Aralia shook her head, but Rayne indulged and translated.

"Oh nothing much, he was just telling us telepathically that he wants to bone Harry till he passes out. And now he believes he has no chance cause Aralia told the two of you." She said in an offhand, and slightly careless voice. Ron's face disappeared in a sea of red. Draco followed suit, his face a scarlet mass amongst the silver ensemble. Harry glanced up at Draco and dropped his head again, his hair hiding an embarrassed smile, and a rosy blush mild in comparison to Ron and Draco.

" Be glad I've learned my lesson…" Draco threatened, pointing at the fifth year girl smirking at him. Ron excused himself from the table. Fred and George were holding back fits of laughter while Hermione beamed, relieved that her slip would more than likely not cause any problems for her friend.

"Well, . . .." Draco reached over and slapped Rayne lightly.

"Shut up." Fred glared at him.

"Don't hit her, unless you want to have serious problems."

"Relax, Fred. He was just playing." Aralia protested.

"I don't care. He didn't have to hit her."

"She didn't have to say that, either!" Draco exclaimed, still blushing.

"Are you saying it's not true?" Harry asked quietly. Draco looked at him seriously.

"Whether it is or not, this is not the appropriate place to discuss it," he said snootily. Both sets of twins laughed at that. Harry gave him a mischievous grin and sat upright once more.

"Uh-oh. You'd better run Malfoy…."

"I do believe Harry is planning something!" Fred and George exclaimed, causing the whole group to erupt in laughter.

"Planning what?" Neville sat down beside Harry and reached for a bun and the butter.

"Don'worrryboutit," Harry slurred. Neville gave him a curious look and shrugged.

"So you got a date next Hogsmeade, Harry?" Neville asked instead.

"Not at the moment, but I might get one before it gets here." He smiled secretively at his friend. "Wanna help me get the person I have my eye on?"

Neville grinned back.

"Sure! Just tell me if you need the help." Aralia and Rayne shared a look. They would have to sit with the Gryffindors more often, Harry was so much fun! They could practically see him plotting. This was going to be interesting.

* * *

"When Harry Potter plots, I usually try to stay away from him," Draco admitted frankly that night, once they were safely in their dorm. Arranging the dorm so that the two other girls were in a separate room was the first thing Aralia had done after she had awakened from her trance and eaten, after they had introduced Draco to their teacher. Then they'd added another bed for Draco, and the three of them lived together now. Snape hadn't liked it, but she had convinced the castle itself that it was best if they had their own room. Not even Dumbledore could undo her changes, though she had assured everyone that they would revert to their normal state once the three Protectors no longer needed them. Snape still hadn't been happy, but he was assured that all three of them had love interests outside of their little group, and that solitude was necessary to properly teach Draco. They spent just about every minute that they weren't in classes together now. Draco could hardly imagine life without the girls in it anymore. They had grown closer than family, at least on his part, though that wasn't really saying much, considering his family.

"Why did you avoid him?" Rayne asked curiously.

"Because when he was plotting, it usually meant trouble for me. As long as it wasn't Godfather who caught us fighting, he could always get me in trouble, because everybody knew I sought him out on every opportunity. So they believed the Golden Boy. It was easier to just stay away, as much as I could."

"Well, this plot, I don't think you want to stay away." Draco looked troubled.

"Ray, I know he's going to ask me to Hogsmeade. And I wanna go with him, I really do, but . . .."

"But you're nervous, and you're afraid that without us there, you'll revert to your old behavior, and scare him off." Draco nodded. Aralia smiled, and reached out to touch his cheek.

"K'talin, we never said it would be easy, and it's natural to be nervous. But you have enough self-control that you won't scare him off, and I know you'd rather have your date without us hovering, no matter how much you enjoy our company! Just be natural with him, just like you do with us. It'll work out." He nodded, looking comforted.

"You're right, te'sal. Thank you. But I would like to spend at least part of the day with you guys."

"Girls."

"You girls then. Like you're not going to bring your guys. What say we all take our guys out together then split up later?"

"Sounds good to me." The girls chorused.

-

_He was walking down a path, in the forest not far from where he met the Teacher; that much he knew. But he didn't know where he was going, just that he needed to go there. The teacher had not called him, neither had the girls. There was nothing familiar in the call, but there was nothing threatening about it, or the feel of the caller that came along with it._

_He stepped into an open glade, which was lightly populated with people, and a few creatures. He was very glad to see Aralia and Rayne there, and started to move towards them, hoping one of them would have an explanation for him, but Rayne caught his eye and shook her head slightly, indicating that she would find him in a minute. He nodded slowly, now more confused that ever. An elderly man with long silver hair –but thankfully no beard, else he would have born an unbearable resemblance to Dumbledore- approached him and started talking to him, forcing Draco to pay close attention to him, else he get lost. He was floundering enough as it was, he didn't dare let himself get distracted. Aralia and Rayne approached him after a nameless time –far to long to Draco._

"_Pardon us, elder, but our student is much confused. He has never been called to before." Aralia explained apologetically. _

"_How is it that he has never been called? And is so lacking in instruction?" The elder seemed to blame the twins personally for his lack. _

"_We found him but a month ago, and have spent far too much time correcting the attitude that his father instilled in him, elder. It is through no fault of his that he has not been able to receive proper instruction, and we had bigger things to worry about. We were not expecting him to be called so soon." Rayne explained gently._

"_We weren't called for years after we found our teacher." Aralia added. The elder's face softened._

"_You are still young yet, daughters, though you bear the burdens of those much older. And now a student of your own! I shall watch you most closely, my daughters. The first student is the hardest." He vanished into the crowd._

"_Mind telling me what the hell is going on?!" Draco questioned irritably. He had been looking forward to a night of nothing but pleasant dreams, it happened so rarely anymore. _

"_A meeting. And you must have something to contribute; else they would never have called you, so new to your responsibilities. Just listen, and when you think something's important, tell us, and we'll tell you if it's something they know or not. We've been going to these things for years. Try not to get bored." _

_And they each took a hand, leading him to the table that he swore was not there last he looked. He looked at Aralia and Rayne. The long-suffering expressions on their faces were not encouraging. Aralia noticed his look and smiled softly._

"_It'll be fine. We just-"_

"_-Hate meetings. We prefer to actually do things-"_

"_-Not talk about them!" Draco laughed. That described their philosophy perfectly. 'Don't talk about the problems, fix them!' was practically their motto. They sat down, Draco between Aralia and Rayne, and an elder called the meeting to order. Within moments it was obvious to the three of them that this would be a very long meeting . . . . ._

-

"So are you guys worried?" Draco asked the girls the next morning. They exchanged glances.

"Well, the three of us were already working on our assignments before they were given to us, so no worries there. Soon all three of us will be close enough to protect him. It would have been nice, however, if you had informed us that your crush had a destiny like that."

"Though it explains a lot about your fascination about him. Your instincts made sure you would be as close to him as possible, though your training made you express your concern in a negative fashion."

"But they said that something's going to happen this year, and the only thing we can do is to help him get ready for it! Why will we not be able to help him with it?!" Draco sounded like he was about to have hysterics. Rayne sighed and stood up, moving to lay her hands on his shoulders, speaking gently to him.

"We don't know, Draco. We'll just take it as it comes, alright?" Aralia giggled.

"Well, someone'll take it when it comes," she muttered. Draco blushed.

"Shut up, Ari."

"Hey, the two of you have come a long way since the beginning of the school year . . . . ."

Flashback

_The two boys stood close together, staring angrily into each other's eyes. _

"_What's the matter, Malfoy? Scared? You should be. Things are happening that you have no idea of." Angered by the implications that he was out of touch -and scared of the Golden Boy- Draco swung a punch towards Harry's face. To his shock, it connected; Harry hadn't been expecting Draco to lash out physically. The blow __landed on his cheek, and he took a step back to keep his balance, before attacking Draco. Draco tried to shove him off, but slipped, and they both hit the floor._

_By the time the girls found them, they were rolling on the floor, attempting to do as much damage to each other as possible._

_They separated the fighting boys, taking them both to the Hospital Wing, on the way giving Draco a mild reprimand that Harry couldn't understand, because he should have known better than to fight with Harry. Their rivalry solved nothing, it only tore apart people who would need to support each other, and made a positive outcome less likely._

_That was when they had decided that it would be best if Draco stayed with them until he could control his temper and not revert to his habitual, unacceptable behavior._

End Flashback

"Yeah, when you think about it we have come a long way," Draco said with a shrug. "The little bastard is still stubborn as hell, but at least I'll..." Draco paused as an owl fluttered through the window and settled on his bed, a letter addressed to him tied to his leg. Draco removed it and read the note, if possible, his features going paler than before. Rayne snatched the note and read it as well.

_Dearest son, _

_We have been informed recently about your living arrangements, as well as your extracurricular activities. As your father, I must implore you to cease these activities at once, my son. The girls you have been fraternizing with hold nothing for you in the way of your future as the Malfoy heir, and seek only to have influence over you, turning your hand toward their own ends. I would not see mine own flesh and blood so used._

_The Dark is stirring, my son, and we must both be ready for it's call at any time. I know not how, nor why, nor why now, but I believe that my lord may be returning, and if that is so, then you will bear the honor I have had bestowed upon me, when the time is right._

Rayne noticed that there had been a small splotch on the paper where a tear may have fallen. She touched it and felt an overwhelming sense of loss, and a mother's pain. 'So, the father wrote it, and the mother read and sent it. I wonder if she argued,' Rayne thought. Aralia put an arm around Draco, and was speaking soft, reassuring words into his ear. They could both feel how terrified Draco was of being pressed into the service of the Dark Lord his father had sworn allegiance to. Rayne finished reading the letter; it went on to describe times and locations of occurrences that Lucius had drawn his conclusions from. At the bottom in a flowery script, his mother had written:

_P.S. _

_Oh my darling. I had hoped that your father would keep you from this madness, but I dare not go against him in any obvious manner. I can only bless the fact that I was raised in a home that made Slytherin House look tame, and use all I have at my disposal to convince him to make your own choices. Stay strong until I can get you out of this. I love you bear._ Tears streamed down Rayne's face at the love and worry implied.

She moved towards Draco, when a quiet knock sounded from the door.

"There's someone wants to talk to Drake." Blaise Zabini said softly, stolidly ignoring the sight of his best friend crying. Rayne nodded and went to see whom it was.

Harry Potter stood in the open portrait. Rayne sighed; he would come now. Maybe he could help . . .. She motioned for Harry to follow her, leading the way back to their room.

"He's really upset right now. I'm hoping maybe you can help to calm him." Harry nodded and pushed the door open and moved to put his arms around Draco, who had buried his face in his hands, now sobbing openly. Rayne knelt in front of him, placing her hands on his knees.

"It'll be OK, we won't let anything happen to you. I swear it." Draco stiffened, suddenly noticing that there were more arms around him than he could account for. He looked up, straight into Harry's eyes.

"Oh, damn," he said wearily, his voice still hoarse with tears. Harry grinned at him, and affectionately wiped away the remaining tears. Draco relaxed suddenly, leaning into Harry's embrace. Aralia and Rayne smirked to each other over their heads, then slipped unnoticed out of the room.

"Why are you crying?" Harry asked softly. When he had knocked on the door, he had intended to talk to Draco about what had been said at breakfast that morning, but the sight of Draco crying distracted him. Draco had never looked so vulnerable to Harry as he did with the tear tracks down his cheeks, and his eyes puffy and swollen. It made him feel protective; and yet it was a totally different type of protectiveness than what he felt for Ginny, who was like his little sister. He decided that he rather liked the feeling, but he also knew that if he had to protect Draco all the time, they wouldn't last long.

Draco opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again and pointed to the offending letter on the comforter. Harry picked it up and sat next to the blonde, mumbling to himself as he read.

"That's bu…HEY!! Ow!" the letter burst into flames in his hands as he spoke, singeing his fingers. Draco laughed despite himself. The Malfoys never let incriminating evidence last longer than necessary. Harry glared at him.

"Sorry, I should have warned you about that," he said, still giggling. Harry stuck his finger in his mouth, making Draco raise an eyebrow. Never before had he wanted to be a finger. Well . . . he had wanted to be a fork, and a spoon, and even Harry's goblet at one point as he watched him lick some pumpkin juice off the side. But never a finger…. Draco was brought out of his daydream though when Harry stuck the spit-coated finger in his ear. He yelped, and fell back onto the bed. Harry leaned over on his side, so he could still see Draco's face.

"That really was not funny." Harry held out his maltreated fingers.

"Sure it was. You just have an atrophied sense of humor." Draco rolled in his hysterics at Harry's obvious confusion at the word.

"Would you . . . you hold still!" he said, wrestling Draco until he lay on his back with Harry hovering over him, pinning his arms over his head, ankles holding his knees in place. "You move around too much, child." Draco observed Harry's hold on him then smirked.

"I didn't know you were into bondage, Potter," he drawled, amused.

Harry blushed furiously, the countered, "There's a lot you don't know about me, Malfoy."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Are you admitting to being into bondage then?"

"I don't see as how you really need to know that."

"Maybe not right now, but it might be nice to know later . . .." He smirked suggestively. Harry blinked, then rolled off of him, only to have Draco pin him to the sheets, his hair falling into Harry's face. Draco lowered his head, Harry thought for a moment he was going to kiss him, and his heart fluttered uncontrollably. But Draco turned his head so that his lips barely brushed his ear.

"I am…. In moderation…" He let the sentence hang in the open, nipped his ear, then rolled off with an evil grin. Harry just lay there a second, stunned. Then he shot into a sitting position with enough blood in his cheeks to account for half his body weight.

'Just out of curiosity, which position do you prefer to be in? Tied up, or the one doing the tying?'

'Shut up and go away. Have you no decency?'

'Nope!'

"Draco?" Harry asked worriedly.

"Hmm?"

"You spaced off for a moment." Draco shook his head and muttered something about horny fan girls. Harry went rigid.

"THEY WERE LISTENING?!" he demanded, shocked and embarrassed. Draco rolled his eyes.

"Those two never miss a thing. Especially where I'm concerned." Harry thought about that for a second.

"So we're gonna be porn stars?" he asked Draco doubled over instantly, unable to breathe with the force of his laughter. Harry bristled. "I don't think it was funny. I was serious!" he said in a rather childish voice.

"Your Sirius? I can't be flirting with my cousin!" Draco managed to look affronted, though his laughter had not diminished. Harry stomped his foot, making Draco laugh until his face was red and tears were streaming down his face.

'You really need to calm down k'talin.' Aralia echoed in his head. 'You're hurting his feelings. He thinks you don't take him seriously.'

'I wouldn't know how Sirius takes anyone. Never been curious enough to ask.' Both girls burst out laughing, startling many people in the common room. "And I don't think you're a porn star unless it's recorded." He remembered Rayne's trick with the camera, but decided not to mention that to Harry.

"But still. Do you think they'd really watch us?" Harry sounded so insecure all of a sudden. Draco sighed.

"I doubt it. Or at least not often." Emerald eyes got wide, giving Draco the impression that Harry had not been around the block as quiet rumors had implied.

"Are you implying that we would be doing anything that you wouldn't want Sirius to see?" Draco asked cheekily

"I doubt Siri would be watching much…. he'd be too busy with Rem to bother." Draco smirked; his father always said those two were too close in school.

"Hmm. I do believe you're avoiding the question." Draco smirked at him. He didn't get any redder, but he couldn't look towards Draco. "Awww, you've embarrassed yourself. That's cute!" When Harry looked up Draco was leaning on the bed, his hands on either side of Harry's hips and his face inches from Harry's. "Your adorable when you blush." Draco cooed. Harry lashed out, leaving a light mark on his face. "And you're entirely irresistible when you're angry, too."

'So I'm guessing you want to be tied up then?'

'Shut UP!' Draco threw up his mental barriers to the fading sounds of Aralia and Rayne's laughter. He couldn't block them out for long, and it would leave him exhausted later, but he really wanted privacy right now.

Harry unawares to the mental communication, latched onto Draco's bottom lip, digging his teeth into the soft flesh and drawing blood. Draco gasped, and leaned down to kiss him fiercely when Harry released his lip. The dark haired boy balked at first, caught unprepared, but Draco was persistent, following Harry as he leaned back onto the bed, not allowing him to break the kiss. Though once Draco had settled on top of him, pinning his hands above his head to stop him breaking away, Harry stopped struggling and responded to Draco's lips on his. Slowly at first, then with more enthusiasm as Draco deepened the kiss.

"Small amounts of pain rather turn me on," Draco murmured when he broke the kiss in favor of air. Harry blinked at him.

"I turned you on biting your lip?" he asked confusedly.

Draco nipped Harry's lip then reached into his muscle shirt to pinch a nipple. "And you can tell me you don't like that?" he teased. Harry's eyes got wide, but he nodded anyway, not quite sure what he thought about Draco rummaging around in his clothes. Draco noticed the look on his face and frowned thoughtfully. "Harry, are you a virgin?" The color that had slowly left his cheeks flared to life once more. He turned his head, seeing as how he was still thoroughly pinned to the mattress, and stared at the wall, obviously embarrassed at being asked such a question. "You are, aren't you?" Draco asked, only half surprised. Harry didn't respond. "C'mon, it's nothing to be ashamed of, I'm just trying to figure out why I keep scaring you."

"Who says I'm scared of you?" Harry demanded, returning his gaze to the silver eyes above him. Draco sighs and rolls his eyes.

"Making you uncomfortable, then," he amended. Harry didn't reply, and understanding dawned on Draco's milky face. "You're just realizing it, aren't you?" he asked, meaning Harry's sexuality. Harry turned his face away again.

"It's one thing to like someone," he said, barely audible, "but it's a completely different proposition to know that they like you, and to contemplate _actually _doing things with them, rather than fantasies."

Draco turned it back with a nudge of his nose, then kissed him thoroughly releasing his hands, sliding his own down to rest on his shoulders gently, holding his body to hover tantalizingly above Harry's, his warmth doing nothing to still Harry's tremors. Harry slowly slid his hands to rest on Draco's shoulders, and he pushed him off, rolling over so he was straddling the blonde once more. He hesitated a moment, then kissed Draco lightly.

"Come see me if he tries anything." He whispered, then rolled off and left.

Draco laid there till the girls came back into the room; he missed Harry's body pressed against his own already. The girls grinned at him.

"Have fun?"

"Yep." He said absently, the taste of Harry's lips lingering on his tongue along with the metallic taste of blood. He ran his tongue along the cut on his lip.

"Good. Because I've been informed that there's a formal council tonight: an accounting, and we're expected to attend."

"Who?"

"I don't know. They didn't tell me that." She looked vaguely worried.


	3. Chapter 3

_The ceremonial gavel hit the table with a sharp, ominous crack. From the center of the table, the head of the council called for the accused to be brought in; the twelve council members to either side of him nodding their agreement. At a small table to one side Draco and the girls sat with the other witnesses._

_On the defensive side, Lucius Malfoy sat with his head hanging, and his wrists bound to his chair. Draco looked around the room and took in the blindingly white décor. The only color visible was he scant furniture that seated the council, the witnesses, and the defense. The elders on the council were all ancient in age and appearance, all of them supporting an air of superiority and power. Rayne placed an arm around Draco's shoulders when he realized his father was on the other side of the room._

"_DAD'S A…." Aralia slapped her hand over his mouth._

"_Sshh! Speak only when spoken to here." She warned. Lucius looked up at the sound of his son's voice._

"_Draco? DAMN!" He dropped his head onto the table in front of him, the elders gave him a curious look, especially when he raised his head, and his brow was bloody._

"_You have a problem with your son's presence, ah'ru'nalia?" the councilor's voice rang through the room, his obvious disapproval of Lucius' reaction showing on his weathered face._

"_No sir." He replied hurriedly._

"_Then we may begin. Lucius Malfoy, of the ah'ru'nalia rank. Father to Draco, of the rank k'talin, and protector to Narcissa Black. You have been called here to account for your actions. Many feel that this accounting is far past due. For the past twenty years, you have openly supported a wizard who sought to overpower the rest by torture and death. You have suppressed your son to the point where he was nearly where you are sitting now. And you have called for your son, a fellow protector, to join said dark wizard, who is looking to return soon. How do you defend these accusations?" Lucius hung his head for a moment, then looked at his son with a deep regret and sadness that pulled at Draco's heart._

"_I do not defend them. The truth of my actions lies plain to see." He said just loud enough to be heard. The council raised a collective eyebrow, looking vaguely approving that he was wiling to admit it._

"_There is no requirement for witnesses then."_

"_A question, revered councilor, if it is permitted." The council leader nodded gravely toward the twins." How did your attention come to be drawn to this situation?" Rayne's soft inquiry made Lucius wince, though he did not protest it._

"_An elder brought k'talin Draco's failings before us, for investigation, and it became obvious that his lack came from ah'ru'nalia Lucius' teachings, not through his own will, and as he was working to fix his wrongs, he was spared an accounting. This brought ah'ru'nalia Lucius' actions to our attention, though we should have noticed much sooner." A look was passed around the council's table._

"_All except k'talin Draco and te'sali Aralia and Rayne may depart." The room slowly cleared._

"_May I inquire why their presence is required, elder?" Lucius bowed slightly._

"_No, you may not, though I will tell you anyway because it pertains to your sentence," the elder said sharply, obviously suppressing his fury at the other man. "To redeem your actions in the eyes of the council, you will seek to undo what you have done. I am assigning you to Aralia and Rayne's tutelage. _

_Under their supervision, you will aid your son in his mission to protect Harry Potter until Tom Riddle has fallen." Lucius looked rather disgusted, then shocked. A protector is almost always drawn to protect their soul mate, and __Draco's constant quarreling with the boy should have been an indication. Draco could not resist taunting Harry and crossing his path whenever possible. Lucius looked ready to protest, then one look into his son's silver eyes, he sighed and conceded. "If that is the council's wish, then it will be." He said mechanically. The pleading look in Draco's eyes, laced with an obvious affection for the boy in question, and Lucius could not hold to his old prejudices._

"_Then let it be."_

The council's voice echoed and faded as Draco floated into consciousness, barely registering that Aralia and Rayne were curled up with their arms around him on the bed in their dorms. He snuggled into Rayne's arms as Aralia pulled away, wishing it was Harry holding him.

"Draco, your father is here." The words barely penetrated his consciousness, but once he absorbed their meaning, he sat bolt upright. Stretched across Aralia's bed lay his father, a rare peaceful look on his face, still asleep. "Shall I wake him now? He won't wake until one of us wakes him."

"Not yet. Lets leave it be for a while." Draco shook his head and flopped back onto the bed, and back into Rayne's arms, drifting back to a dreamless sleep.

-

"WHAT!!"

"Father is in major trouble with the council, and he's gonna be helping us now, and he's currently in my dorm room," Draco recapped for his astonished godfather.

"When I noticed an extra person in your room, I expected you to say that you had somehow persuaded Potter to stay with you, or some other such trivialities. And you tell me that Lucius Malfoy is a protector like you are, and is going to change sides just because he got into a bit of trouble with the protectors? Forgive me is I have a hard time believing you." Severus sat back and steepled his fingers together, bearing a momentary resemblance Albus.

"Believe me or not, I'm not one to care. But you should know that protectors are held to a MUCH higher standard than the rest of the world. Nothing Voldemort could do to us would compare to what the council could do." Severus paled slightly, having seen some of the torture methods that Voldemort used regularly. Rayne piped up at that moment.

"Imagine living out the rest of your life in glass, to watch the world slip by without you. Everyone you care about, all your friends and family, they die before your eyes. And you're helpless change anything, or give any last words or actions, while they believe you abandoned them because you simply vanished. Then, once your life has passed you by, and there is no going back to it, imagine being tortured, excruciatingly slow and painful to such a degree that you go mad. And this is your astral form so you cannot die and escape it." Aralia took up the description in a soft, and frighteningly calm voice.

"This could go on for millennia, and you cannot count days or years because it is endless. And when they've finished with that, you live out the rest of time in a warp. Total darkness and cold. Empty space with nothing but your consciousness and the guilt for letting down and possibly causing the death of your charge." Draco eyes were huge, but he finished the illusion.

"The one you're Drawn to protect becomes your life, your love. That person becomes everything your about. A Protector is obligated to look out for the good of everyone they come in contact with, but the one person your bound by love to protect is something else. To have let that person down, or to let them die and do nothing to stop it, or even to just put them in danger, knowingly or not, is pure torture. It's like having your soul torn out, leaving a gaping hole."

"Then why did you insist on always fighting with that boy?" Severus drawled. Rayne answered when Draco stammered.

"A combination of his upbringing and his attraction to him caused him to make constant contact with Potter however possible. Since the easiest way to do that was to constantly tease and hound him, he took that route. Which allowed him to succumb to the attraction while still holding to his father's teachings. This was entirely subconscious."

"It did hurt," Draco admitted. "But I thought that it was just because he'd turned me away. But it was the actual fighting with him as well. It hurt more than his rejection did, actually, because I earned it with my attitude."

"I see. So you fought with Potter because you couldn't admit to yourself that you liked him?" Aralia had to give the man points for picking out the important information and completely ignoring the rest.

"No, because I couldn't let anyone else know that I liked him. That I was fond of anybody. Father wouldn't allow me to show affection, I see now he was trying to suppress me being a Protector." Severus' face darkened slightly.

"Your father is an idiot." Rayne laughed at Sev's harshly-spoken comment.

"Let's get some lunch, we can talk about this later." Aralia poked her in the back of the head.

"You just want to see Fred." She accused.

"It's a bit unnerving to see those fantasies of yours without wanting to drown them out. Do you blame me?"

"My fantasies are a lot tamer than Fred's. I'm scared to even look at his." Draco laughed.

"Loverboy gots a dirty mind?"

"You have no idea." Rayne shook her head. "You should have seen what was in his mind when we first met. I'm scared to look now that we've known him for a while." Rayne said.

"She's scared that it'll be something she's willing to do," Aralia teased.

Oh really? Well trust me, there are plenty of things he would never think of that I'd be wiling to do, some of his thoughts are just scary," she laughed.

"I do not want to know about yours or Weasley's fantasies," Snape commented, looking disgusted. Draco raised his hand.

"I second that!" he said before opening the door, signaling the end of the conversation and sub-conversations. He walked out the door and nearly ran into Harry, who had been looking for him.

"Where have you been?" Harry demanded rather territorially. Draco gave him a funny look and Harry blushed, then backtracked. "You've missed all your classes today and yesterday. Rumors are flying." Draco did a double take.

"What?" he asked, baffled.

Rayne sighed and thumped him on the back of the head. "Did you learn nothing from the first time you went astral on your own, and were out for a full week? These things take time sometimes."

"Oh…" Aralia rolled her eyes.

"And it didn't help that you went back to sleep for another day and a half when you woke up the first time and found your pops in my bed. That's actually what took most of the time. Apparently you go shocky easily. We'll have to work on that."

"His dad's HERE!?" Harry yelped, looking worried and frightened.

"Yes, but I can promise he won't cause any trouble. He has to help us now."

"Why would he help us?"

"He got in trouble," Aralia said mischievously.

Draco sighed. "C'mon, and I'll explain." 'Why did you bring it up?'

'Because he had to know that he can trust your father now, and he won't unless you explain.'

'Fine.' "Harry, you go with the girls to our room. I'm gonna go get some food, because I'm starving. I'll be there in a bit."

"BRING US SOME!" the other three said simultaneously.

"OK, OK, I will!" he laughed, heading off.

-

Fifteen minutes later, he returned, after telling the house elves to deliver food to his room instead of him having to carry enough food for all of them.

Harry was sitting on the edge of Draco's bed, still staring at the still form of Lucius Malfoy.

"Want to wake him up?" Draco laughed. Harry shook his head frantically.

"No!"

"Harry, he won't hurt you anymore. He swore to it, to our highest authority."

"#1, I find that hard to believe, and #2, what highest authority, since I get the feeling you're not talking about the ministry." He looked curiously at Lucius. "How long will he sleep?"

"Until Aralia or I wake him," Rayne answered. Harry looked relieved that Lucius would not just suddenly wake up.

"But we'll need to wake him soon, or he will starve. And the council would not be pleased if we allowed that to happen." Aralia shuddered slightly.

"OK, you still owe me an explanation, Draco." Harry obviously chooses to ignore that last statement. Draco sighed and held Harry close, nuzzling his face against his hair.

"OK. We are what is known as Protectors . . . . ."

* * *

"I'm going to wake him now," Rayne said quietly. Harry had taken the explanation better than Snape had. He listened intently, and asked questions when he didn't understand. Rayne and Aralia filled in where Draco pulled up blanks. Now that he knew that it wasn't some superficial attraction, or experiment with his sexuality, he was more comfortable with his desire for the blonde. "Wake up ah'ru'nalia. You've been sleeping long enough. Its time to uphold your obligation," Rayne said, shaking his shoulder.

"Easy for you to say, I want to go back to sleep for another couple of years." He grumbled. Draco hadn't seen his father do anything remotely childish in his life, and this display of teenage refusal to awaken to his obligations made him laugh.

"You'd starve to death."

Lucius sat up and apparently thought about that for a moment. "Hmm, true. Damn." When he sat up, Harry had turned his face into Draco's neck, still expecting a confrontation from Lucius, which he wanted to put off as long as possible.

"Ah, Mr. Potter?" Lucius gestured towards Harry. Draco nodded. "A pleasure, Mr. Potter." Harry didn't look up.

Draco ran his fingers into his ever-messy hair and pulled gently, forcing his to look into his silver eyes. "He's not going to hurt you." He said. Harry was rigid and cautious as Lucius stepped forward, offering his hand to shake.

"I don't trust you," Harry said blankly.

"I never expected you too, but you have to at least trust Draco if you want to make it to your next birthday, kid." Harry scowled at the implication that he didn't trust Draco.

"Draco I trust. You've never done anything but attempt to harm my friends and me. I don't want to be around you."

"And how, pray tell, do you plan to manage that while dating my son?"

"Easy." Harry got up quickly and left the room.

"Gee thanks, dad," Draco said sarcastically, glaring at his father.

Rayne turned to the older man and slapped him soundly, her sharp nails leaving scratch marks on his cheek.

"You were charged to help protect him, not chase him off. Do you WANT to spend the rest of eternity with Narcissa on your mind? Grow up and start thinking like an adult!" she raged. Aralia sat back with a pleased look on her face. Rayne had a way of getting her point across. The blood on Lucius' face was proof.

Lucius blinked at her. "I dare say 'Cissa would be a pleasant enough topic for contemplation."

"With guilt? If Harry fails, she will most likely die, probably painfully. Are you willing to allow that to happen?" Lucius looked away.

"No," he said quietly. He'd failed to protect his previous mates, and though the bond with a second or even third protected was not as strong as that with their destined other half, it was more than he would allow to be torn from him again.

"Then help us."

* * *

"Harry, are you alright?"

"Yeah, 'Mione, why do you ask?"

"You just looked a little upset, that's all." Harry shrugged.

"It's nothing. Just a lot of drama to handle in one day." He said. Mione hugged him then turned back to her runes translation.

"Anything you want to share?" she asked.

"Not particularly." He said.

"I don't blame him. I wouldn't either after you blabbed his crush over breakfast." Ron smarted off. Hermione slapped his shoulder.

"I'll tell you when I get it straightened out. Thanks anyway though." Harry folded up his papers and packed them away in his bags, then plopped into the armchair by the fire, the red and yellow spikes of heat reflecting in his emerald eyes.

Ron took one last look then turned to 'Mione.

"Something's bothering him. And I think it has to do with Malfoy. Look at how he's just drifted off with his eyes open. That's not natural." She got up with her eyes rolling and closed Harry's eyes, then covered him up with a scarlet blanket with the Gryffindor lion embroidered on it from the back of the chair.

"And if it does? He said he needed to work it out on his own. Trust him to ask for help if he needs it."

"Hermione, this is Harry we're talking about. He never asks for help," Ron laughed. She made a face at him and turned back to her studies.

-

"_Harry? What are you doing here?"_

"_I don't know. Where am I?" Aralia made an appearance, closely followed by Rayne._

"_In the astral plane, kid. This is where all the important stuff happens in the protector's world." Rayne said simply. They each gave Draco and Harry a hug then proceeded to lead them in no particular direction. Soon the blank whiteness of the world gave way to a forest, a path already forged for them to follow._

"_You see the way. All will be well, children. Remember, nothing here will harm you."_

"_You're not coming with us?" Draco sounded almost panicked._

"_We'll check in on you in a bit."_

"_O-OK." He nervously took Harry's hand, and they started down the path._

"Professor, you need to send a message to Professor McGonagall. Tell her that Harry is in an astral projection, and must not for any reason be disturbed." Snape made a face at the girls, but nodded as he dismissed them.

_The path through the forest started to darken, the trees becoming thicker and less light was able to filter through. Surprisingly, Harry was handling the gloom of the forest better than Draco was. A light rain was falling, and the chill of the water was sending chills down Draco's body. Harry pressed a gentle kiss into his neck. "Shh. It's beautiful here. Look around, you're missing it." _

_He wrapped an arm around Draco's waist._

"_Where is the beauty in it? It's so dark and gloomy. And its cold." Draco complained._

"_It's peaceful, and pure. No one can corrupt it with man-made objects. This is how it was before we tore the forests down for selfish purposes." Harry pulled Draco closer to him. The blonde stopped for a moment then he too smiled._

"_You're right. I shouldn't have taken it for face value." He started walking again, leaning against Harry slightly. The forest opened up a little bit, and there was a little clearing. They stopped for a moment, sitting on a largish rock formation, under an overhang of ivy vines._

"_So?" Draco asked, looking curiously at the dark haired boy._

"_So what?" he asked. Draco spread his arms wide, indicating both the forest and the situation. Harry thought for a moment, and then turned his emerald gaze to his protector._

"_I don't think about it really, well I do, but, I mean, I'm not sure what to think. It's nice though, to have someone that takes me seriously. This is some pretty heavy stuff."_

_Draco smiled, pleased. Harry wasn't calling him crazy, nor was he running like Draco had feared. He accepted it, as Draco had accepted it._

"_No matter what, you'll always have me. Not that I could leave you hanging in the dark anyway." Harry looked hurt._

"_Are you saying you would if you could?" Draco shook his head. "Not on your life, Hun." He replied, and Harry relaxed, laying his head on Draco's shoulder. _

_Draco lifted his chin and kissed him softly._

_There was a soft glow that emanated from the rocks, and the back of Draco's neck started to burn fiercely._

"_OW!" he yelped, tearing away from Harry._

"_Whassa matter?" he asked, still dazed from Draco's kiss. Slowly the pain faded and Draco put a hand on the back of his neck._

"_Lemme see." Harry lifted his hair, and took a look at the new mark on the back of his protector's neck. "Ooh, pretty!"_

"_What is it?"_

"_It's like a tattoo." He traced the edges softly with a fingernail. He held out a hand and focused for a moment, and an image of it appeared briefly in the air before them._

"_Wow."_

"_Yeah." Harry leaned against Draco's shoulder, allowing Draco to wrap his arms around him, not even noticing the soft warmth that burned his shoulder blade. Draco felt the heat, however and lifted his shirt to take a look._

"_You've got one too." He said softly, his finger tracing the soft outline of angel wings with a holly sprig in the center._

"_Really? Show me it?"_

"_OK, I guess." The image shined against his hand for a moment, then fizzed out._

"_What does it mean?" Harry asked._

"_It means that, not only have you accepted your roles in the world as Protector and the protected, but you've accepted your bond as well." Rayne and Aralia both strolled into the clearing with satisfied smiles on their faces._

"_You learn fast for beginners."_

"_Thanks, I think." Harry laughed. The girls held out their hands, and the boys each took one._

"_Things are speeding up. We don't have time for you to miss," Aralia explained, as they felt an odd pull while returning to consciousness._

"What do you mean things are speeding up?" Draco asked.

"Voldemort is on the move." Rayne replied. "Come on, we need to get some food in you."

"And Dumbledore will announce something at dinner. Make sure you both are there." Aralia instructed as the girls left. The boys looked at each other and shrugged, then headed to the kitchens to get some food.

-

"What do you think he'll say?" Draco murmured into Harry's ear, as they cuddled up on Draco's bed after their trip to the kitchens.

"I don't know. I haven't heard anything." Harry gasped as Draco stuck his tongue into his ear. Draco chuckled softly. Harry slapped him lightly. "Don't play with me like that!"

"OK." Draco rolled over suddenly, pinning Harry to the bed and capturing his mouth.

"I said stop playing," Harry gasped when his lips were released.

"But I have stopped playing. I'm totally serious now." He pressed a light kiss onto Harry's lips. "Totally serious about you." Harry caught his bottom lip in his teeth as before, but this time not quite so hard.

"Prove it." Draco happily obliged, not giving Harry the opportunity to take the challenge back.

Draco snatched at a small tear in Harry's muscle shirt and ripped it apart, trailing kisses up and down his neck while pinching at his nipples with sharp nails.

"I said no playing!" Harry protested at Draco teased him mercilessly.

"But its so much fun!!" he replied, trailing his nails ever so lightly over the tender skin on his lower back, knowing very well the Boy-who-lived was extremely ticklish. Harry grabbed his shoulders, nails digging into the pressure points at the base of his neck. Draco gasped. "You don't play fair."

"Neither do you!"

"Is that a challenge, kitten?" He questioned. Harry grinned maliciously.

"Perhaps…" he said evasively.

"That's all I need to know." Draco's drawl was deep in his throat and sent shivers up Harry's spine. Draco bit into Harry's lip, while working the pressure point behind his ears, drawing a kittenish purr from deep in his throat.

"You asked for it." Harry kicked a knee out from under Draco and sent his sprawling over the bed, Harry pining him to the sheets, the burying his teeth into Draco's shoulder.

"Hey! A Slytherin, people expect to fight dirty. What's your excuse, Gryffindor?"

Harry laughed. "Do I really need an excuse?" He ran his nails down Draco's arms, barely scratching them.

"I guess not," Draco, said, rather breathless by now. He returned the gesture with a swift stroke up the spinal column, sending shivers up Harry's back and throughout his body.

"Bloody cheater!" Harry protested, shivering violently with the sensation as Draco took advantage of his momentary weakness to exploit his ticklishness to its full potential.

Practiced fingers danced over Harry's abdomen, then up his back and back down to the hem of his jeans. He slid his fingers slowly down the fabric, testing how far Harry would let him go. Harry tensed slightly, but didn't protest to Draco's roaming fingers. Draco smoothly slid his hands down, fingertips brushing the backs of his knees, causing another gasp, then slid back up to briefly wrap his arms around Harry. The darker boy fell for the charade, and found himself on his back once more.

"You're so feisty, kitten!" Draco crooned, trailing his tongue along Harry's jaw line, the crept slowly south, teasing and manipulating Harry's sensitive flesh. Harry grew impatient with Draco's teasing and buried his nails into his shoulders and raked his nails along his back, leaving dark trails of blood.

Draco raised his head enough to latch on to Harry's lips, kissing him fiercely. Harry pulled back long enough to pull Draco's shirt -which had bunched up against his shoulders- over his head, before kissing him again. Draco looked slightly surprised, as Harry's hands traveled over the exposed skin. For someone who professed to have almost no idea of what he was doing, Harry was quite adept at hitting his sensitive points just right.

In his ecstasy, Draco let his guard down and soon found himself once again on the bottom, Harry's impatient roaming surprising him further as he hovered over the clasp that held his pants to his waist.

"Don't be shy, kitten." Draco cooed, toying with Harry's happy trail. Harry slowly unfastened Draco's jeans, and Draco mirrored his actions, an amused smirk on his face at Harry's sudden uncertainty.

"Are you getting shy on me?" Draco inquired, slipping Harry's pants over his hips, long fingers cold against the previously undisturbed flesh.

"I'm not shy," Harry denied, but he still looked slightly uncertain. He leaned down to kiss Draco again before he could ask any more questions. Draco returned the kiss, but gently this time, rolling over so Harry was beneath him once more.

He removed the offending fabric from slender legs. Harry curled at the knees and tucked his toes into the belt loops, then slid them off with his feet alone, leaving his hands free to tangle in Draco's hair and force him into another kiss. Draco willingly followed his lead, suddenly worried that he was pushing Harry too far, too fast.


	4. Chapter 4

Aralia shouted in triumph as her Queen smashed through the last of Rayne's defenses, and dragged the bishop off the chessboard rather brutally. The game ended quickly after that as Aralia smashed through Rayne's weak front of mostly pawns. "Checkmate."

"I still say you cheated somehow." Rayne huffed, sitting back in her chair. George laughed and tussled 'Lia's hair.

"No cheating here!" he said, slipping his wand back into his sleeve before Rayne could notice. Fred stuck his tongue out at his brother from his position behind Rayne, legs to either side, chin resting on her shoulder and his arms around her waist. He didn't really care who won, and he didn't want to listen to the argument that would ensue if he pointed out that George had been spelling Aralia's pieces. She'd beaten both him and George honestly, so he didn't care if she had help beating her sister.

"You bloody liar!" Rayne accused, slipping into the local accent. Aralia laughed.

"Well, well!!" George called as Harry and Draco emerged from the bedroom, a satisfied smile on Harry's face, and a vaguely dreamy one on Draco's. Fred grinned from ear to ear.

"Took y'all long enough. 'Lia has already whipped all our asses at chess at least three times a piece!" Harry shrugged and spoke in an affronted tone.

"Well, he wouldn't quit teasing me! I had to put him in his place!" Draco nodded vaguely, his mind on the last three hours they had spent in the room, uninterrupted by Aralia or Rayne's teasing comments. For once. Harry nodded smugly, wrapping an arm around Draco possessively.

"Yeah. I got 'im alright." The others looked at Draco, to see that he clearly wasn't paying attention to the conversation, as he showed no sign of even hearing Harry's comment.

"Draco?" Aralia prompted, amused.

"Damn, he's good." Draco mused, then seemed to realize that she had spoken to him. He jerked his head up rather inelegantly. "Huh?" Everyone in the room bursts out laughing, Draco looked puzzled.

"Did I say something funny?" he asked. Harry nodded.

"Did you mean to say that out loud, Hun?" Rayne managed to gasp out around her laughter.

"Did I mean to say what?" Draco looked between them, confused.

"That Harry was good." The Weasley twins informed him in tandem.

"Oh…that." Draco blushed.

"Well? How did our resident Gryffindor virgin do in Slytherin terms?" Fred asked, prodding for further embarrassment. Draco blushed furiously at the memory of everything that Harry had done to him.

"Lets just say…." He hesitated for a moment. "That he is _very_ good with his hands." Draco said evasively. All four twins laughed heartily, causing Harry blushed in embarrassed pride.

"Well, at least you wont have to worry about him finding someone else just because they're good in bed. Sounds to me like you broke it." Rayne commented. Fred whispered something into her ear, causing her to blush and giggle like a schoolgirl. George gave him an approving look. Fred was finally getting Rayne to soften up a little. He'd bragged nonstop for a week when he finally got a proper kiss out of her.

"Awww, aren't they just so cute?!" Aralia whispered to him, gesturing subtly towards the other two couples. Harry and Draco had drifted back into their own little world, and as Harry shifted towards Draco, George caught sight of the new tattoo on his back.

"Harry, is that a tattoo?!" Harry looked startled for a moment, and then relaxed.

"Something like that." Fred demanded that he get up and display it properly.

'He just wants a chance to ogle my Harry,' Draco laughed to the girls. George poked a rather large hickey on Harry's back just below the new wing tattoo. Harry squealed.

"That hurts you know!" he said. Fred raised an eyebrow.

"S'not my fault. You're the one that let him eat you from head to toe." George accused, now poking all of the hickeys within reach…. that he could see.

"Strip," Fred said to Draco. Harry did a double take and whipped out his wand.

"He'd better not strip! He's mine and I'm not sharing!" He said defensively. Draco's face twisted into an amused smirk.

"Is that an order, oh golden one?" he asked. "'Cause you know how well I follow orders," he threatened. Harry gave him an evil grin.

"Oh I know. You follow mine to the tooth, don't'cha, you little imp." He said.

"I take it you told him to bite you?" Rayne smarted off, earning herself a nip on the shoulder from Fred. "I didn't tell _you_ to bite _me_."

"Who said you had to tell me? I do stuff without having to be asked, remember?" he said rather candidly.

"Oh, hush you. Harry, he just wanted to see how marked up Draco was. Since he didn't do us the courtesy of coming out without a shirt."

"You've seen me without a shirt before, and I don't see why your boyfriends would want to see me without a shirt, and I usually don't go out shirtless in public y'know. I rather like shirts. They're very comfortable. Plus, they keep you from getting a sunburn, y'know?" he was met with 5 pairs of confused eyes.

"Blonde moment," he said, peeling off his shirt, then doing a quick turn for them to see.

What he had done to Harry did not compare to what Harry had done to him. There were angry red scabs in rows down his back and arms. Love bites and puncture wounds all over, there was not a single spot of flesh on Draco Malfoy's chest that indicated that he was white. Purples, blues and angry reds covered every inch of him. Aralia stood up and took a really close took at his collarbone.

"You missed a spot, Harry. I can still see his skin right here." She poked Draco rather meanly on a very tiny patch of white skin, causing Draco to howl with pain. Harry beamed with pride and the other four looked at him in pure dumbfounded amazement.

"Harry did that?" Fred asked, sounding awed. Rayne pointed a threatening finger at him.

"Don't you dare think about marring my beautiful flesh like that! I will have your balls on a stick!" George laughed and Fred looked genuinely frightened, now eying the small hickey he had been working on her shoulder….

Harry walked over and wrapped his arms around Draco's waist, cuddling kittenishly.

"Proud of yourself, eh kitten?"

"PROUD! LOOK AT WHAT HE'S DONE!" Lucius walked into the common room and started poking and prodding at his son. "HE'S MUTILATED YOU!" he shrieked.

"Please dad. It will heal," Draco said dismissively. "But only if you stop poking! That hurts you know!" Fred and George look at each other and burst out laughing.

"DÉJÀ VU!"

"QUIET YOU! This is serious! What do you have to say for yourself POTTER!" he demanded.

"Calm down Lucius, don't have a hernia." Harry said, sneering at the man. "And as for what I say for myself, I say I'm damn proud of m'self. Deal with it!"

"Yeah, and its fairly temporary, compared to a certain Mark you were going to put on him," Fred commented acidly. Rayne gave him an approving smile, and then scratched his ginger head. To George's amusement, his foot began to tap in rhythm with Rayne's scratches.

"And you cannot tell me you haven't done something similar to Narcissa." Aralia said with a smile.

"EWWWW!! I could do without that particular image of my parents thank you very much!"

Lucius gave Aralia a look. "Despite what you six may or may not do, I do not discuss my personal life. That is why it is called _personal_." But he looked calmer. "Draco, would you mind terribly putting your shirt back on?"

Draco looked positively devilish.

"Yes, I think I would." He flopped onto the nearest couch, pulling Harry down on top of him. Lucius scowled as Harry placed a light bite on the previously-pointed-out-bit of unmarked flesh, and Draco slid a hand half-way down the back of Harry's jeans, only stopping when the hem caught on the flesh between his thumb and fingers.

Both sets of twins smiled, but the silence was broken with the resonating sound of another of Rayne's slaps. Aralia looked over at her.

"Why, dear sister, did you slap him this time? Keep it up and they'll start thinking you're abusive or something."

"I don't mind," Fred said with a smile. Rayne rolled her eyes.

"He was trying to take a page from Draco's book and put his hands down my pants." Fred shrugged.

"Well, can't say I'm not getting anything from lack of trying." He said.

"No, you're not getting anything because you try too much!" Aralia laughed. Rayne's face was twisted in a secretive grin.

"I think she likes it." George observed. "She'd be disappointed if he didn't try."

Lucius balked and turned to leave. "I want to hear no more of this!" he yelled, plugging his ears very childishly.

"Anyone hungry?" Rayne asked, ripping Fred's hold on her as she stood. He pouted.

"Yeah. You gonna go fetch us something to eat, oh purple-headed one?" Draco asked. Rayne gave him a look.

"I rather thought you had enough to eat when you snacked so heartily on Harry." She snapped. "Be glad your in no shape to duel Hun, cause you'd be eating your words if I had it my way." Draco blinked, wondering why she suddenly seemed angry with him. He hadn't done anything to upset her.

"Anyway, we already told you guys that we have to go to dinner tonight. And Draco, your friends have been worrying about you. What with you keep missing classes and all." Lucius gave them both a look.

"You missed classes?" He asked dangerously.

"He was learning astral projection, and he doesn't have much control on the relative time yet." Aralia informed him, her tone not leaving room for parental arguments. All four of them knew that the Protector's studies trumped all other obligations except the obligation to his charge.

"Astral projection, huh?"

"That sounds kinky." Both Weasleys burst out laughing.

"Ha. Ha. To you, everything sounds kinky."

"Very true." Rayne grinned.

"We're going to go ahead. I'm starving. See y'all at dinner." She grabbed Fred's arms and he followed her obediently out the door, his brother's mocking laughter following him.

* * *

"You know, dinner don't start for another half hour, babe." Fred asked, wrapping an arm around her waist and forcing her to slow down.

"I know. C'mon." She led him approximately halfway to the Great Hall, then pushed him into a branching corridor.

"What's down here?"

"You'll see." He followed her down the empty hallway trustingly. Apparently this wasn't a part of the castle that was frequently used.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see when we get there."

"When are we going to get there?"

"Soon."

"How soon?"

"Do you want me to leave you here?"

"Not really."

"Then stop asking questions."

"But I like asking questions." She stopped and gave him a look. He gave her the puppy dog-eyes in return. She tried not to but couldn't stop herself. She grinned and took his hand again.

"We're going to a small room I found. Its beautiful." She said. Fred inwardly punched air and started thinking 'I'm going to get some! I'm gonna get some!'

Rayne stopped suddenly and pushed open a heavy looking door, then led Fred inside. The walls were painted with breathtaking night scenes. The detail was perfect, and the colors blended in cool, ethereal metallics. Paper-Mache trees and 3-d scenery pieces were scattered tastefully throughout the room. The entire décor was hand made, and with deadly accuracy. Fred forgot his hormones for a moment as he took in the mind-blowing scene before him.

"You did this?" he asked. She giggled in delight.

"Yep. All done by hand, no magic involved," she bragged. Fred walked slowly around the room, taking in the texture of the paper-mache, and stumbling across a few ceramic field mice. He stopped to stare at a squirrel monkey hanging from one of the trees. When he poked it poked him back. Fred did a double take.

"Whaaa-?" he said poking the monkey again, thinking it was an animation charm. The monkey shit in its palm and threw it at him. Rayne laughed openly and beckoned to the monkey affectionately.

"Come here, Lunai." The monkey scampered to her obediently, traipsing all over her like she was a tree to be swinging from. Fred cast a cleaning spell to rid himself of the animal's feces.

"Lunai, this is Fred. Be nice." She looked up at him with a serene smile. For once, she was entirely relaxed and not bitching about something, or having to drill something into someone's head. To Fred, she positively glowed, and with the unworldly scenes behind her to bring out her exotic looks, she seemed like she did not belong on earth.

"I'm baffled," he said, still trapped in her spell. She gave him a questioning look. "Why do you keep holding me close, but pushing me away? You act like you don't want anything to do with me sometimes, but if I leave you to talk to anybody else you get upset. Why are you playing with me like that?" he asked. She dropped her gaze to the floor, also painted to imitate outdoor scenery.

"If I tell you something about us, do you promise not to tell anyone else?" she asked, now looking a bit worried, and on edge again.

"Promise." He said simply. She sat on one of the toadstools, and absentmindedly stroked Lunai's fur.

"Remember the tattoo on Harry?" she asked.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Rayne gave him a pointed look and he fell quiet again.

"It's the mark that every one of the protected receive when they accept that they are bound by something greater than themselves to a Protector. A soul mate, if you will." She began. Fred nodded, taking a seat next to her.

"What you didn't see though, was a tattoo on Draco similar to this one. In the exact same spot." She lifted her Amethyst hair off her neck and showed him the crest of the Protectors, a combination of holly and honeysuckle, with a pair of angel wings on the background. Fred touched it, and soft warmth filled her neck.

"This is the mark of a Protector who has accepted their obligations and duties as a Protector."

"What has this to do with why you are treating me like a boy toy?"

"I'm getting to that!" He motioned for her to hurry up and get to the point.

"Well, when a Protector receives this mark, most often it is at the same time their soul mate."

"So your telling me you have a sweetheart back in the states?" She shook her head.

"In mine and Aralia's case, we found our soul mates in a pair of twins similar to you and George. Our marks had activated when we were twelve, and we'd been looking for them for three years when we finally found them. They were marked less than a year later; we bonded with them." She paused, as if to try to capture just the right words to make him understand. "We were all at an amusement park, having a wonderful time on our days off. We got onto a roller coaster together." Fred had a feeling that he knew how this story was going to end. America's theme parks were notorious for malfunctioning rides. "The hydraulics malfunctioned, and the ride went haywire. Aralia and me escaped just barely because we have a higher tolerance for pain, as well as our magical and spiritual gifts. The boys were not as blessed as we are, and…they didn't make it." A tear paved its way down her cheek, and she had to take a moment to steady her voice.

"We were supposed to protect them, and we failed. We were not called to accounting because it was an accident beyond our control, but it does not soften the blow to the soul when one looses a soul mate. Especially a Protector." She looked into Fred's helpless eyes. "I know it's illogical, but I'm scared that if we get close, something bad will happen to you, but I don't want you to be away from me so I can protect you if it becomes necessary." Fred wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and she laid her head on his chest while she finished.

"Aralia took to George easier than I expected, and refuses to believe that history will repeat itself. But I can't stand the thought of getting close and have the same thing happen. Loosing someone close to me tears me apart from the inside out. I don't think either of us would survive it if it happened again."

Fred suddenly felt guilty for his constantly chasing her romantically. He pulled her off her stool, beautifully carved mahogany, and onto his lap. "If it helps any, I'll come back to haunt the bastard until he goes mad if anyone tries any funny business." Rayne laughed, in the wizarding world that is not really an idle threat. It can be done. She curled up against him, for the moment willing to let him comfort her.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have an announcement to make." Rayne and Aralia tuned the old man out, already knowing what he was going to say. There were going to be students from other schools at Hogwarts this year. Why this was such a big deal they still didn't understand, despite the competition, because at their school in America, they had students from other schools all the time, and they stayed anywhere from a week to several years. The excited murmuring informed them when the headmaster had finished his speech, and they turned to Draco, who was seated across from them, next to Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini, for an explanation.

"Well?" Rayne asked rather pointedly.

"Well what?"

"Well, what's the big deal? A few foreign exchange students and a dangerous competition, what's the big deal?" Aralia asked and Draco gave her one of his most bemused looks.

"What's the big deal?! This is the most dangerous competition known to wizarding kind, and its only open to students! It only happens every 4 years at a different school every time." The girls thought for a moment.

"Not much different than the Olympics." They said in unison.

"Though I'm rather glad that they won't let our boys in, not that I'd tell them that." Draco looked surprised for a moment, then rather horrified at the thought of his charge being in the dangerous competition.

"Are you going to enter?" He asked them. "You're both 17." The girls looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Too reckless."

-

"I wish I could enter." Ron said longingly as Draco joined them.

"Why Weasley, not enough pocket money?" he drawled. Ron glared at him, not knowing that Draco was actually teasing this time. Harry gave them both a look for their bickering, wrapping his arms around Draco and biting his ear, sucking on it for a moment.

"Do I want to ask?" Aralia asked her sister, as Draco had slapped Harry playfully.

"You tease!" he accused in an outraged voice. Harry grinned at him while Ron and Hermione looked confusedly at them both.

"Ummm… what?"

Harry and Draco looked at each other. "Don't ask."

"Why not?"

"Because this is far too public a place for us to explain."

"Let's go to our room then." Aralia suggested cheerfully. Draco shot her a playful glare while Harry grinned. Fred's eyes lit up automatically. George nudged Aralia and whispered something in her ear. She blushed furiously. Seeing the look on Fred's face, Harry stared at him for a moment, then blurted, "Fred, are you bi or something?" Fred did a double take, and tried to hide the red coloring in his cheeks. Rayne saved him having to answer.

"If he is it doesn't matter, cause I'm not sharing." She said wrapping her arms around his stomach possessively.

"I was just trying to figure out why he's so interested in my sex life." Ron and Hermione looked rather taken aback. They hadn't even known he had a sex life; much less that Fred was interested in it! Aralia gave her sister a questioning look.

"I'll tell you later,' she thought, then planted a kiss on Fred's cheek.


	5. Chapter 5

Ron and Hermione sat rather warily on the emerald green couch by the fire in the small common room that the twins had created, while both sets of twins sat together on a larger couch, and Harry and Draco flopped down into one of the many armchairs scattered around, curling tightly together in the confined space.

"Is there anyone else you'd like to explain things to before we start? 'Cuz it's starting to get a little irritating," Harry commented idly, running his fingers through Draco's loose hair.

"Pansy and Blaise, I think. They should know if those two do." Harry nodded, and Draco quickly fetched Pansy and Blaise before returning to his place with Harry. Blaise raised an eyebrow at him, which he returned. Harry lightly chewed the side of his neck for a moment, not enough to even leave a mark, just a bid for attention. Draco shuddered slightly, and Harry grinned.

"Well…" Aralia began, looking at Rayne. She nodded, meaning they would switch as often as someone forgot something.

"There is a higher society of gifted witches and wizards that answer to an authority far different from the Ministry of Magic. Dating back to the first dark wizard, this society was created to protect the world from the twisted minds of those who seek power for personal gain. We are called the Protectors. Often our futures are determined when our gifts emerge. More often than not our gifts are spiritual in nature, though there have been a few who wield power over the elements, or other facets of magic."

"So are you saying Harry is a Protector?" Ron asked.

"No."

"Then why are you telling us this?"

"Because Draco is." Both looked thoroughly confused.

"How do you know someone is a Protector?" Hermione asked, her curiosity momentarily overshadowing her bewilderment as to why they were sharing this at all.

"There is a mark on the body when a Protector is born. It is very faint through infancy and childhood, only darkening when the Protector accepts their responsibilities. In families where Protectors are not common, it is often overlooked, preventing the forming Protector from receiving training as a child to help mold their gifts in a proper manner. Only once have I ever heard of the mark being recognized and proper training not being gotten for the child."

"When was that?"

"Draco." Everybody in the room looked at him. He looked back, refusing to be embarrassed by something that wasn't his fault. "When Lucius fell, he swore that none of his children would become Protectors, because all he got out of it was heartbreak -I do believe Narcissa is his third protected. So when he saw the mark, he hid it, and trained Draco to be as he was before we found him."

Rayne continued from where Aralia had stopped before any more questions could be asked.

"Because of our additional gifts and powers, Protectors are held to a much higher moral and lawful standard. We answer to a higher authority than the Ministry, though that is not to say that we are not susceptible to the Ministry's laws. Protectors are much more powerful than ordinary witches -or wizards- and are called upon to lead those who will follow us on a path that is not littered with doubt, fear, hate or jealousy. As we are also called upon to squash those who would step on others to gain power for personal reasons."

Draco giggled, shocking those who hadn't been around him often since his reformation, which was pretty much everyone except Aralia and Rayne, though Harry wasn't really surprised by anything the blonde did anymore, after having walked in on him crying. "I've never heard it put that was before."

"As interesting as this is, why do we need to know this? I've never heard of Protectors, and that means they must be pretty secretive, right?" Hermione looked at them, puzzled.

"Because Harry is Draco's protected, and you need to know that, or you would try to keep them apart when Harry is in a position of needing protection, yes?" Hermione nodded slowly. Ron raised his hand, Rayne giggled and answered him.

"Yeas Ron?"

"Can a Protector be a muggle too? Or are wizards the only ones?"

"Protectors are often gifted with spiritual powers, and to hone them, an understanding of magic is necessary. Yes, witches and wizards are the only Protectors, but our protected can be muggle."

"How do you know that Harry is Draco's protected?" Hermione smirked suddenly. "And it became necessary to explain all this when I asked about Harry biting Draco's ear, why?"

Harry and Draco both blushed slightly as Pansy and Blaise gave them funny looks.

"Potter bit your ear?" Blaise mostly sounded confused; he had known that Draco was gay, and rather into pain, but the question was, how did Potter know that? And why would he be chewing on Draco's ear?

Rayne sighed as she answered. "A protected is often drawn to his or her Protector. And a Protector finds an insatiable need to be around his or her protected. When we found Harry and Draco, they were always around each other, but Draco's upbringing would not allow him to act in a positive way, therefore he was constantly seeking Harry out in a negative manor." She said to Hermione.

"And it became necessary to explain because we do not want close friends to interfere with, or be driven away by something they do not know. In this case, you, Ron, Blaise, and Pansy are the closest to them and have the most influence."

"There's also Harry's rather wicked tattoo to tell you that he's Draco's protected," Fred added mischievously, as the conversation was not going in the direction he wanted it to.

"You got a tattoo, Harry? When?!"

"Let me see it!" Harry grinned and unashamedly shucked his shirt, displaying not only the tattoo, but also the recovering but still livid love marks.

"Harry! Damn, man, you're all marked up!" Ron exclaimed.

"You should see what he did to Draco!" George laughed.

Harry nudged Draco gently. "Show them what the prude can do," he said rather impishly.

Draco grinned from ear to ear as he peeled his shirt off to reveal his own marks. The redness had mostly faded, except where there were teeth marks and hickeys, but small bruises were liberally scattered all over his torso, plus the scabbed lines down his arms and back. The scratches down his back were going to scar, but he didn't much care. Harry practically purred in delight to their shocked reactions.

"Prude my ass! Harry, where did you learn that?" Hermione asked in a very un-Hermione moment. Blaise looked Draco dead in the eye as he spoke his next words.

"Okay. Gigs up, I know there was someone else involved. There is no way Potter did all that by himself." He stood and started checking closets and under the couches and even went so far as to check up the fireplace.

"Well?" He asked tapping his foot.

"Well what?" Draco looked puzzled. "There was no one else."

"Its all mine." Harry said with a grin, while wrapping his arms possessively around Draco, his fingers tracing the bruises lightly, causing Draco to squirm in his grip.

"Yep, all yours, kitten." Draco put his hands over Harry's to still them, and just because he wanted to hold his hands. "I'm all yours."

"You really love him, Draco?" Pansy asked softly; she had been watching the interplay between the boys instead of automatically denying it as Blaise had.

Draco nodded, his smile warm and his silver eyes bright. Just they way he held himself around Harry confirmed her thoughts. He was entirely relaxed and seemed to glow. She'd known Draco was gay from the start, but she couldn't help but wish it were her holding him like that. Hermione turned from where her friend was wrapped around Draco, looking back at the girls.

"Okay, so what else about Protectors do we need to know? Or about you guys, for that matter, I don't know anything about you Slytherins." Fred tensed slightly, as her wording caused him to flash back to the conversation in Rayne's paper-mached room.

Rayne shot her a glare. "We Slytherins are no different from you Gryffindors. We live, breathe, walk and talk just like you." Fred tightened his hold on her waist just a little bit, signaling for her to calm down. Aralia finished for her.

"Protectors live by a certain set of rules, and regulations. But above that comes the well being of our protected. If anything stands in the way of us protecting our soul mates, the protector often chooses to deal with the consequences no matter how harsh they will turn out to be."

"What are theses rules and regulations?" Hermione, ever a stickler for rules, asked.

"Are you telling us that they are your protected?" Pansy asked at the same time, noting how close they were to the Weasley twins.

"Not exactly," Rayne said tightly, at the same moment Aralia said, "Yes." The girls looked at each other for a long moment. Finally, Rayne sighed resignedly.

"Yes." She didn't sound unhappy about it, but there was a note in her voice that made everybody except Fred and Aralia look at her oddly.

"Care to share?" Draco asked, now curious. Rayne looked ready to cry at his request. She still had trouble thinking of their former protecteds. She looked at Aralia to explain for her, while Fred wiped the tears from her eyes with his thumbs, then kissed her softly.

"We found our destined soul mates back in America. We bonded with them, like Harry and Draco have bonded. We were at an amusement park, and there was a malfunction on the roller coaster we were riding. They died." She shrugged shakily; obviously this affected her more than she was letting on. "Ray's scared to let anyone get close, now. Afraid she'll lose them, too. It's very painful to lose your soul mate." Fred absently noted that she sounded a lot more collected then Rayne had when she told him. Either she had moved farther on than Rayne had, or she was able to control her emotions better. He was willing to bet it was the latter. She had said she did a lot of shamanic work, and you had to have a lot of control of your emotions to keep the spirit world from spinning out of control.

Draco instinctively clutched Harry to him at the thought of loosing him, until Harry whimpered, and he realized that his nails had broken the skin on his arm, and his arms were probably crushing the smaller boy. He guiltily relaxed his grip, leaning down to brush his lips over the marks on Harry's arm in apology. He purred softly, and laid his head against Draco's chest.

Ron and Hermione both looked away from the girls, Hermione feeling rather guilty for pressing the subject as she had. Pansy and Blaise were both dumbfounded. They couldn't imagine what it would have been like to be so close to some one and feel that crushed if they died. They were both Slytherins, and didn't attach themselves to anyone so strongly often. As she glanced around, Hermione suddenly asked, "Harry? Where did you get that shirt?" She gestured to the now crumpled silver dragon t-shirt. The blue flames behind the dragon were moving, as was the dragon itself, snapping its teeth at people, and flapping it's wings, it's tail gently weaving back and forth. All in all, it was not something Harry would have been able to get himself. Mrs. Weasley had bought his school supplies last summer while they were at the Quidditch World Cup, and it wasn't something that she would think to get for Harry.

"I borrowed it. Drake was a bit too impatient with mine," he said rather nonchalantly. Hermione gave him a look that suggested she was not interested in knowing the details of his sex life. Not that she'd known he'd had one until recently.

"Well if you don't want to know, then don't ask." Draco snorted. "I rather thought it was obvious. You've never seen him wear anything so bold before, have you?"

"Well, no," she said reluctantly, though that had been the reason she'd asked in the first place.

"What happened to your shirt, anyway? You never did say, you just came out without one," Fred asked, not about to let the topic change. Blaise looked surprised at that statement.

"It got torn."

Draco raised his eyebrow at Fred.

"Rayne, you really should put a leash on that puppy of yours. He might get into something he would like." Fred grinned, and nuzzled Rayne's neck.

"How would you know?" Fred challenged. Harry laughed, then whispered something in Draco's ear, causing him to laugh as well.

"Well... if you must know, it was torn because I got impatient with Potter's teasing, so I ripped it off. And then proceeded to fuck his brains out. "

"With his pants still on? Talented, aren't you, Draco?" Pansy quipped.

"Actually, it was the other way around, if you haven noticed." Harry modified, poking his lover in one of his bruises to demonstrate. Draco stuck a finger in Harry's ear.

"Unless you want to take it here an now, in front of everyone, you'll behave," he warned.

"I don't believe you," Harry grinned, poking harshly at a quarter-sized bruise near Draco's left nipple. Draco gasped, and grabbed a handful of Harry's hair, pulling him into a fierce kiss, trailing his other hand lightly down Harry's spine.

"You gonna behave?" Draco asked threateningly once he released Harry's lips, keeping his hold in Harry's hair. Harry looked at him, dazed.

"Nice," he murmured, and Draco took that as a promise to be nice, releasing his grip and wrapping his arms around his shoulders instead. Both boys got odd stares from everyone but Aralia and Rayne.

Harry grinned and curiously prodded at a rivulet he had created with his nails. Draco gasped, and his automatic reaction could not be hidden, even though Harry's legs were draped over his waist. Draco snarled, and in seconds he had Harry pinned beneath him, his mouth crushing into Harry's with a feral hunger too insistent to ignore. Not that Harry intended to ignore it; quite the contrary.

"I warned you," Draco growled in his ear. "But did you listen to me? No, you did not. And now you're paying for it." Harry's throaty chuckle surprised Draco, but only fueled his drive.

"Gladly." The smug tone -and the satisfied grin on his face- told the others that this had been the outcome he had been pushing for.

Pansy's peals of laughter did nothing to penetrate either boy's narrowed consciousnesses, as Draco finally succeeded in literally ripping off Harry's jeans with a single-minded intensity. Hermione tried to look away, but didn't succeed as she watched Draco finally manage to undress Harry.

"Never thought of you as a fan girl, Granger!" Pansy commented through her bouts of laughter.

"Fan girl?" Hermione asked, not sure what Pansy was talking about. She looked over at the other girl, and saw a slight blush, and a light in her eyes that was not all from laughing.

"Sure. You are so obviously into voyeurism."

"Voyeurism?" she asked reluctantly. It had always been a vaguely dirty concept in the Granger household, but Pansy sounded like it was something normal, leaving Hermione slightly confused.

"Yeah." She raised an eyebrow at the tone, and pointed to where Harry and Draco were now making out on the floor, their hands all over each others' mostly-uncovered bodies. Hermione had to admit that it was hot, but she was too embarrassed to say so. "Ohmygod, this is your first introduction, isn't it?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Hell yeah." Pansy beckoned imperiously, and Hermione hesitantly moved to sit by her. "Watch." Hermione looked over and found that she had an excellent view of exactly what the boys were doing. She blushed and looked away again, accidentally meeting Pansy's eyes. "Don't look away. You like it, yes? So watch it. Don't be embarrassed. They aren't." Blaise walked back in and attempted to pull Pansy out of the room. "No, Blaise, I'll talk to you later." She turned his head to the boys on the floor, and he gasped as Harry bit hard on Draco's shoulder, nearly breaking the skin. "You can't tell me that's not hot." He shook his head slowly, eyes fixed on the two boys. Pansy smiled and pulled him onto the couch beside her. Hermione turned briefly and saw that Ron was still sitting where she had left him, partly covering his eyes, his face bright red.

Pansy looked over; Ron was watching through his fingers, his cheeks as red as his hair. She looked back and forth between him and Blaise, and a wicked smile tore at her lips. She snatched Ron up and threw him at Blaise. Hermione slid quickly away as Pansy moved, anticipating awkwardness if she was still there. They both went sprawling on the recently vacated couch, both obviously surprised to have been thrown into the fairly intimate position they found themselves in. Always one to take advantage of a situation, Blaise quickly pinned Ron, and captured his lips with his own. Hermione and Pansy giggled madly at the boys. Ron wasn't able to put up much of a fight, between his shock at the sudden change in situation and the way Blaise was kissing him, refusing to give Ron an opportunity to back away -though it didn't take long before he was responding rather enthusiastically to Blaise's advances. Blaise groaned, rubbing himself against Ron, who arched and moaned at the contact. Pansy looked triumphant. It was obvious, though, that Ron was unsure of himself in this new situation. She hoped he didn't give Blaise too much trouble about being pounced on like that. If he did, Blaise'd try to drag her into it, and she didn't really feel like putting up with that. She'd be too likely to say something that would break them up, and she didn't want that.

Ron rolled suddenly, dumping Blaise off of him. They both landed with a thud, Ron now on top, and Blaise rather winded from Ron falling on him.

"Much better." Ron leaned up to claim Blaise's lips again. Blaise twisted his fingers into Ron's hair, and proceeded to take control again, Ron straddled across his hips and leaning over him, but Blaise was still fully dominating the kiss.

Fred looked far too interested for Rayne's comfort. She supposed he was bi after all and would probably take some convincing that she did not intend to share. She pulled his lips down to hers and kissed him deeply, busying his attentions with her wandering hands. He exerted all his self-control, pushing her away, both highly interested in the show in front of him, and wary of pushing her to do something she may not want to just to compete for his attentions.

"I don't want them but what's the harm in watching when they're so determined to put on a show?" He shifted Rayne on his lap so they could both see the boys better, and giving Rayne less access to the parts of his anatomy that screamed for attention. Fred trailed delicate kisses down her neck, stroking her arm until she relaxed against him.

Away from the others, and oblivious to everything that was going on around them; Aralia and George were engaged in their own activities, though not with the same ferocity as the others. George treated Aralia like a queen, only going as far as she would allow him too, always delicately tantalizing in his tender touches. 'Lia wanted much more, and he knew it, but he took his time nonetheless, treating her as if she were made of glass.

Moans crept through the room, heavily coated with sexual desire, and spiked with an appreciative longing.

Aralia broke away to survey the orgy around her. Draco was mounted on Harry and currently riding him like a rodeo cowboy, Harry's face twisted in both triumph and undeniable ecstasy. Aralia turned with a smile to another wriggling mass on the floor, giggling as she realized amusedly who it was.

Ron, though on top of Blaise, was being manipulated like a marionette. Every touch, every caress, every kiss; nothing was without a purpose. Ron's dwindling supply of clothes that actually covered anything was obvious proof of the subtle and skilled attack Blaise had instigated.

Fred's cheer called 'Lia's attention to him and her sister. His free hand was raised in a victory salute to Pansy, his other down the front of Rayne's shirt, his experienced caresses leaving a dreamy look in her amethysts eyes.

Pansy grinned at Fred, then quickly pulled Hermione to her, capturing her lips in a searing kiss before she had a chance to protest. Hermione attempted to thrash away, panicked, but Pansy followed her, and she quickly submitted to Pansy's talented lips, kissing beck rather hesitantly. Pansy didn't care; at least she wasn't being pushed away. She knew that the bookish girl probably didn't have much experience, but she more than made up for any lack.

She wound one hand in Hermione's long hair, wrapping the tresses between her fingers, then around her wrist, delighting in its length and softness, the other wrapping around the other girl's waist, pulling Hermione into her lap and up against her body, startling a gasp out of her at the sudden contact. She gently stroked the other girl's face, neck and hair, wary of going to far. She knew that if she swamped the other girl with too much at a time, she'd get defensive when she came to her senses, and more than likely refuse to see her again. Pansy didn't know exactly what she wanted right now, being rather caught up in the moment, but she knew that she didn't want Hermione to avoid her, or be afraid of her own desires, which she would be if pushed too far at a time.

Slowly, she shifted until Hermione was cradled tenderly in her arms, holding the Gryffindor close, chests pressing together, dropping butterfly kisses all over her face and neck, on all exposed flesh she could reach. Hermione whimpered softly at the new sensations as one gentle hand slid slowly down the side of her neck, down her chest, to rest on her stomach. Pansy smiled and gathered Hermione into her arms, gently guiding her out of the room. Loath as she was to leave, she wanted some time alone, and she rather thought that Hermione would start freaking out when the others came out of their lustful daze. Plus, she didn't want to deal with it if Ron got upset about being pushed –'rather literally,' she laughed mentally- into being with Blaise. Her total lack of remorse wouldn't help anything, at least until Ron calmed down. She gently turned Hermione to her room –the small numbers in Slytherin 6th-years -there were only 3 girls and 5 boys- did have its advantages, one of which was her own room- silently thanking whatever deity was listening for the emptiness of the common room.

The bed was soft beneath them. The sheets fresh and the pillows fluffed. Courtesy of the house elves, Pansy guessed. Hermione didn't seem to notice the change of venue much other than a curious look in her eyes at being set into what felt like a cloud.

"Surprised?" Pansy asked, her body molding automatically to Hermione's curves.

"You could say that . . .." 'Mione groaned as Pansy shifted, accidentally digging a knee into her thigh. Pansy rolled onto her side, an arm wrapped around Hermione's soft middle, the other stroking her hair softly, tucking it behind her ear.

"What-?" Hermione started to ask, but couldn't think of a way to phrase her question that didn't sound bitchy.

"What happened to the hardcore Slytherin bitch everyone's scared of?" Pansy chuckled softly. "That's a ruse, baby girl. Makes people think twice about picking fights with me." She moved to kiss her again, but 'Mione pulled back a bit, an automatic reaction in a situation she no longer controlled -not that she had ever been in control of this particular situation to begin with. "Don't be shy. Trust me, no man could ever treat you like a queen. They're all too involved in getting what they want to think about what we want." She thought back to her own experiences almost automatically. "No man could ever kiss you like I can." To prove her point, Pansy touched her lips to Hermione's gently, then nipped her bottom lip. Her touch was delicate, and her kisses tender, yet passionate, her tongue tracing intricate patterns on 'Mione's. She pulled back with a smile, her index finger running along the other girl's jaw, her touch ghost-light. Pansy kissed her again on the cheek, then the jaw, the neck and the collarbone, her tongue snaked out to tease the hallow of 'Mione's throat. A whispered sigh encouraged her as she slipped lower, unbuttoning her blouse quickly, Pansy's tongue never leaving soft skin, the taste of perspiration sensuous as 'Mione wriggled in the warm comforter. Pansy pushed back the plain white bra from Hermione's curves, teasing but aiming to please as she breathed across her breast.

"Stop," 'Mione moaned. "This is torture!" Pansy sat up, leaving her cold now that she didn't have the warmth of Pansy's breath on her skin, her expression was questioning as 'Mione relaxed into the comforter. "You move too slow," Hermione complained. Pansy laughed, and traced soft circles on her ticklish skin, causing her to laugh and wiggle.

"That's the point, dear." She clicked her tongue disapprovingly. "Looks like you've never been educated on _this_ subject." 'Mione looked appalled at being thought uneducated on any subject, but she wasn't about to admit that some of the books she had been reading weren't appropriate for those who were easily embarrassed. Or the magazines.... "I'll be happy to teach you some tricks...."


	6. Chapter 6

"I still don't see why it has anything to do with helping Harry save the world," Ron said stubbornly. Hermione rolled her eyes and shushed him, glancing nervously at the Slytherins surrounding them. Besides the two sets of twins, though, everyone was very pointedly ignoring them. She supposed that they were lucky that nobody had tried to hex them for sitting at the Slytherin table.

"Dumbledore is trying to say something!" she hissed, glancing anxiously towards the doors. Pansy hadn't made it to dinner, nor had Blaise, or Harry and Draco. Aralia and Rayne were both leaning nonchalantly against Fred and George. Rayne's face held a wicked smile, while Aralia's could not be seen through George.

"Just relax, and don't worry about it. You will understand -or not- when the time comes," Aralia assured him in a rather distant voice. The doors slammed open, and a largish group of girls fluttered in; apparently they were one group of exchange students. Aralia hoped that they were less air-headed than they looked. Because there was no way they'd be good competition if they weren't. They looked like socialites. Of them all, the only one who looked like she had any intelligence at all was the little girl in the gymnastics suit. She looked about ten.

Not far behind them, a group of guys half-marched in, staves tapping the ground in unison. They looked very imposing in their fur-trimmed red wool uniforms. She supposed it was cold around their school, for the standard uniform to be so heavy. 'Ohh, me likee," Aralia sent to Rayne. George, noticing the look on her face, nudged her ribs.

"That had better be artistic appreciation I see on your face." Aralia giggled.

""Of course it is!"

Rayne's grin widened as she studied the newcomers. The girls looked like nothing more than an interesting diversion for boredom, and the guys...well they just looked yummy. She started thinking of a few practical jokes she could play with, and made a mental note to ask Fred for a few tips.

"Rayne, I promise, if its not my head on those shoulders your daydreaming about..." Fred let the sentence hang in her ear, his chin digging pointedly into her shoulder.

"Oh trust me, your head will receive plenty of attention to satisfy it, now just sit back and relax. They may have my eyes, but babe you have my hands and my heart." Fred opened his mouth to say something, but she shushed him. Aralia giggled at them.

"He has your hands now? When did that happen?" Hermione and Ron burst out laughing at the implications of that. Rayne chose not to answer her sister with anything more than her playful smile as Fred seemed content with the promises for later activities.

The Durmstrang boys arranged themselves at the Slytherin table, several sitting around the close-knit group, while the Beaubatons girls sat with the Hufflepuffs. About 15 minutes later, Harry and Draco walked in; it was rather obvious to the entire group why they were late. Acting nonchalant, they strolled over and sat between the two twin couples.

"Well, hello you two. It's nice of you to finally join us," Hemione said as both tore into the food that had appeared with the end of Dumbledore's speech. None of them bothered to pay attention. Harry looked up for a moment and swallowed a mouthful of bread.

"Keeping up with him when he's had sugar burns a lot of calories," he said. Draco raised an eyebrow at him.

"I do not recall having much sugar," he protested.

"Yeah . . . just four chocolate bars and a bottle of Vault. That's not much sugar at all, my mistake," Harry said sarcastically.

"You did not introduce him to energy drinks Harry. For all of our sakes, please tell me you did not introduce him to energy drinks," Aralia moaned. This kid was a kangaroo on a pogo stick with sweets, and energy drinks did not help at all.

Harry looked at her curiously.

"Does Vault count as an energy drink? It barely even affects me." Draco rolled his eyes at that, and Hermione giggled.

"Harry, where you get your tolerance for caffeine, I have no idea."

"Lots of coffee growing up. I could usually get coffee after they finished breakfast, even if nothing else was left."

Rayne rolled her eyes. "Well, remind me to load him up on Monster next time I want you out of my hair then," she said sarcastically. Everyone laughed, and Harry looked positively appalled.

"Are you _trying_ to kill me?" Draco smirked at him.

"Well, can you think of a better way to go than fu-"

"Thank you, Draco! That's quite enough!" Hermione interrupted. Draco just laughed.

"Are you iz done wiv the booter?" a handsome Durmstrang boy motioned to the butter dish Hermione had been playing with. Hermione blushed scarlet and hastily handed him the butter dish, even though Harry was dipping out a large glob.

"Hey!" he yelled indignantly. " I was using that."

"Not anymore." Hermione shot him a glare. The Durmstrang boy chuckled, passing the dish back to Harry.

"Thank you. It's nice to see _someone_ has some manners," Harry said pointedly, glaring at Hermione.

"I am Viktor," the other boy offered. Ron was very pointedly not looking at him, the back of his neck and tips of his ears glowing red. He'd recognized Viktor Krum the moment he'd walked in, but he hadn't wanted to give Rayne anything else to tease him about, and his hero-worship of the young seeker would definitely be something she found amusing. Ray took over their side of the introductions, making sure she introduced the couples together. When she came to Hermione, she paused.

"Where's Pansy? And Blaise?" Hermione shrugged.

"Blaise pulled Pansy off with a 'We need to talk'," Ron explained.

"Anyway, and those two lovebirds are Harry and Draco." She pointed to the two mildly preening boys with a soft laugh. Krum seemed uninterested in Harry and Draco.

'Good' Draco thought, 'Cause I'll rip your balls out through your ears if you even look at him wrong.'

'Possessive much?' Aralia teased him.

'Damn right, he's mine!'

'Quit fighting, you too,' a new voice entered the conversation, and Draco nearly fell out of his chair with shock.

'Harry?! Is that really you?!'

'No, it's the Easter Bunny.' Harry sounded amused. Everyone who was not privy to the mental conversation were looking concernedly at Draco, wondering why he had nearly fallen from his chair.

Rayne waved her hand in the universal gesture for impatience. "Don't bother with him. He's out of his mind. If you want you can leave a message after the beep." She paused for a second. "Beeeeeeep!" Draco smacked her upside the back of the head, earning himself a glare from Fred.

"What have I said about hitting her?"

"Well, make her be nice to me!" Draco pouted. Harry laughed and wrapped his arms around Draco.

"Awww, poor Draco . . .."

"I don't give a damn if she runs over your owl with her broom, puts it in reverse and does it again. Touch her again and you're going to be next week's entree for the rest of the school," Fred threatened rather seriously. Harry looked at him sternly. "Then I guess you'll be the desert then, 'cause if you lay hands on Draco you'll be the filling for the pumpkin pasties," Harry said.

Aralia looked between the two fierce-looking boys.

"Cannibalistic much, boys?" The entire section of the table burst out laughing.

"Anyway, I thought Draco was supposed to protect you, not the other way around," she grinned at Harry, who shrugged.

"If he wants to that's his thing, but I figured, why not put in my two cents worth? I'm not about to let anything happen to him either. Though, I thought it sounded funny to be honest," he said matter-of-factly. It was obvious that the boys held no hard feelings, no matter how graphic the threats. Rayne burst out laughing.

"From their condition earlier, I'd say both of them are somewhat cannibalistic," she said, gesturing to Harry and Draco. Viktor, who had been listening interestedly, chuckled.

"They haff been _playing_ much recently?" he asked, with enough emphasis on 'playing' that everyone knew what he was talking about.

"Yeah, they have, they just got together. Newlywed syndrome or something."

Newlywed? I wasn't aware that we were married. Or does this Protector thing have a few hidden fees and charges...uh I mean perks that I'm not aware of?" Rayne slapped her hand over Harry's mouth and hissed as she spoke to him mentally.

'What the hell is wrong with you!' she berated him.

'The only one who was listening that we haven't already told is Viktor, and I get the feeling he already knows.' Sure enough, a glance at the young man showed him looking amused and understanding, not confused, which he would have been if he hadn't known what they were talking about.

'But what if he hadn't?' she asked furiously.

'I got that he did when you made that comment about it's supposed to be Draco protecting me.'

Rayne's gaze snapped to Viktor. 'What do you know. Speak now or so help me you will not live!' She thought at him mentally. Viktor simply laughed at the fire in her eyes. The others were truly frightened of her when she looked like that. Well, except Aralia, who was used to it.

'Ray-Ray! You cannot tell me you do not recognize me?' he replied telepathically. Rayne froze, her face in total shock, still pinning Harry. A twirling vine of red fire wrapped it's way around her hair for a moment; it had always been one of his favorite gestures, she remembered. Aralia unexpectedly hit him with a burst of colored sparks, then simply grinned at him when he turned shocked eyes her way.

'Teach you to ignore me!'

"Ever the feisty one, Lee-Lee," he said, his English now near perfect. He raised his hand, and a shiver if ice cold traveled up her spine. She twitched and shivered. Rayne regained her senses and let Harry go, then with a flick of her wrists, the fire around her hair dissipated. Aralia grinned spitefully at him, then with a vague wave, encased him in ice.

"Hey, it worked!" she exclaimed comically as he broke through it.

"That, was unpleasant. Do refrain from doing it again," he said calmly. Harry, Draco, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other, bewildered.

"Uh, what?" Ron finally managed. The girls laughed.

"Who are you?" Harry asked curiously. "Since I doubt the girls have been to Bulgaria."

"Rover, Wanderer, Nomad, Vagabond, call me what you will," he sang softly, laughing. "Though I'd prefer if you'd stick to Viktor in public," he added suddenly.

"You do not want to know where we have been, trust me." Aralia said. Rayne simply looked at Viktor.

"Well?" she demanded, it was apparent on her face that he was long lost part of their past. But who was it? The others still looked confused.

"As it happens, we actually did know each other in America, though I can't blame them for not recognizing me. I looked quite a bit different." He looked around. "Can we continue this conversation later? In private?"

"Sure," Draco said slowly. "As long as you promise you'll explain yourself." Viktor nodded. Rayne motioned for them to follow her. She wasn't about to wait for anyone to finish eating, making Harry grumble as he snatched his plate to take with him. Once out of the great hall, Blaise and Pansy showed up, then hooked arms with their respective lovers and carried them off. With rueful looks, they followed.

"Rayne?" she rounded on the speaker who dared to interrupt her thoughts. "Is this something that Ron and 'Mione need to know? Or Blaise and Pansy?" Draco asked.

"No." she said shortly. It was very unlike her to act this way.

"What's going on, Ray?" Harry asked softly, not wanting her to get angry with him, but feeling confused enough to dare it. She gave him an odd look, her face softened involuntarily at his slightly frightened, concerned expression. "That's Viktor," she said rather plainly.

"Well… duh," he said still waiting for an answer. She sighed, and was about to explain further when Victor's voice floated over them both from behind her.

"I am Viktor. Hear me roar!" he said teasingly. Rayne jumped and shot him with a bolt of fire. He simply laughed and brushed it off.

"So, jumpy!"

"She's just a little unbalanced at the moment," Draco commented, pushing her lightly, making her trip. "See?" Viktor laughed.

"Yes, I can see that." She glared at him. Aralia, who'd been hanging back and talking to George, suddenly ran forward and jumped on his back. He grinned, and ran off with her. They vaguely heard her yell, "Left turn!" as they entered the dungeons. Rayne huffed.

"Stupid!!" Fred poked her in the side.

"And who is this guy?" he asked for the millionth time. Rayne rolled her eyes.

"Our brother. I thought he was dead. He was on the same roller coaster ride as our…boys."

'Apparently, he decided to use the crash as an opportunity to get away. He wasn't kidding when he called himself Wanderer.' Aralia's voice echoed back to them, and Rayne sighed as she translated for Fred and George.

"Y'know, that's getting tiresome." Fred said with a huff.

"Too bad. You get used to it or figure out which frequency their on." Harry said. Fred looked askance at him. "C'mon, I've seen you and George do the same thing, so figure out how to hear them."

Fred got really ditzy with that last comment; he stuck his palm to Rayne's forehead and looked really hard at her. He actually grunted with the mental effort. "Nope. Can't hear her." All the others burst out laughing. "DAMN, STOP THAT, IT TICKLES!"

"Stop what?" George asked innocently.

"The fingers and the ass dude!! Taken dammit!!" George looked rather taken aback, hands raising in a protestation of innocence.

"Wasn't doing anything to your ass, dude. All I can claim was the back of the neck."

"Well, stop that!" Fred stopped suddenly, looking at George, who was across the hall from him. "How the hell were you doing that, anyway?"

"Like t'is." He twiddled his fingers.

"Eeeeeepppp!!" Fred jumped. Rayne giggled.

"That's the start. Now, listen like you're moving. Can you hear him?" George closed his eyes. 'Can you hear me?'

"Course I can hear you, Ray," he replied absently, not realizing she hadn't spoken aloud. Harry looked between them.

"How come he's having to work so hard to get it, and I could just hear you guys?" he asked, confused. Draco looked at Rayne.

"Because of your bond, it briefly connected your minds and magic. Any abilities that you have that Draco has learned to control, you will be able to control. Whereas, the twins are working out how to use them on their own."

Harry blinked at her, then turned and suddenly jumped on Draco. "Carry me?" he asked comically, tightening his grip around Draco's neck, and wrapping his legs around his waist. Draco reached around and linked his hands under Harry's ass, as Harry buried his face in his shoulder. 'Hey, can you hear me, George?' Harry asked curiously.

"What is it with you people? Of course I can hear you."

"Uh, George? Nobody's said anything to you." Fred was staring at George, worried puzzlement shining in his eyes.

"Yes they have." George looked at Rayne and Harry, confused. They grinned at him. Fred frowned.

"You have GOT to be kidding me!" Rayne put and arm around him and kissed him till he stopped throwing his tantrum.

"Listen."

Fred looked into her amethyst eyes and when she spoke again he jumped. "You're in my head!" he yelled. "That's fairly painful." He winced as she sent him a mental image.

"Sorry, hun. You'll get used to it, then it won't hurt."

'Ray-Ray, you gonna come talk to me, or not?' the plaintive voice made Fred wince, though George appeared unaffected. Harry laughed.

"We better get down there before he leaves to do something else." Rayne jumped on Fred's back and covered his eyes with her hands.

"Follow your brother's footsteps. Listen carefully." Fred looked confused.

"Why?"

"Because it will get you concentrating. Make it easier for you to hear without the pain in your head."

"No pain is good," he said, mock-thoughtfully, following her instructions. After a couple of minutes of adjusting, it was easy for him to follow George. Hadn't they been together practically all of their lives?

"Now, switch. Follow Harry." He tried, but he couldn't hear Harry.

"Where is Harry?"

"Right here," came a voice from his left. He frowned. Harry wasn't walking; Draco was carrying him.

"Think about it. Listen for him." Fred blew some raspberries at her hands and listened harder. Still hearing nothing, he plopped onto the ground and refused to move. Rayne yelped as she was pulled down with him, then sighed. "Fine, listen for Draco then. You can hear his feet."

"No!! I don't want to play games," he said poutily.

"Oh really. Not even if those games involved something like this?" she sent a mental image and he perked up immediately, though he still winced at the mental contact. "Your rewards for working hard, but you have to get to the dorms first." He stood again, steadying Rayne as he did so, and meticulously listened for the blond boy. It took him longer to find him, as he wasn't well connected with him, but he had the physical sounds of his footsteps to follow, instead of trying to follow him with only his mind.

"Ok, next. Look through my eyes." She rested her head on his shoulder.

"How do I do that?"

"Connect like you have been to follow them, then feel around until you can see what I'm seeing. I'll keep you away from the portions of my mind I don't want you in."

Glancing down a side passage, Harry was surprised to see the thoughtful look on Prof. Snape's face as Rayne guided Fred through basic Legillimancy techniques, or something very like them. He smirked evilly. 'Good day, Professor Snape,' he sent to the bemused man, laughing as he stiffened in surprise. 'How is your evening going?'

'Pretty well, actually,' Snape sent back, confusion coating his mental-voice. He had no idea why the Gryffindor was talking to him at all, or how he had learned mental communication, though he was fairly certain his Slytherins had something to do with it. 'Where are you all off to?'

'To talk to Ray's brother, Professor,' Draco answered. Snape raised an eyebrow.

'I was not aware Ray had a brother."

'Neither was I, but she does, and he's here. He's going to Durmstrang.'

'Oh, just come with us, Professor,' Rayne interrupted them, keeping her eyes fixed ahead of them so Fred wouldn't get confused.

"Draco, may I ask why you are carrying him?"

Because I can," Draco replied shortly. Harry moaned theatrically.

"I cannot walk professor, sadly, my legs are no longer functional!" Snape smirked slightly.

"Pity, you so enjoyed flying too. But of course, you cannot if your legs are not working." Harry thought for a moment.

"We can't let Draco get all flabby without competition now can we?" Harry said, and hit the floor on his feet. Draco smirked sadistically, producing a can of Monster from his coat pocket.

"I doubt less competition on the field will do much to my physical fitness." Harry kissed him thoroughly, causing the professor to flush scarlet.

"You have a point there. If I can't keep you on your toes in the quidditch pitch, then I keep you on your back in bed."

"And how are you planning to do that, when your legs aren't working? It would be you on your back, my very dear."

"Did you know, that you burn loads of calories when you go for at least...an hour?" Fred offered following the boys' voices, now cheating his way to victory.

Draco scoffed. "An hour? What do you take me for? I can go for at least 3 rounds." Harry playfully slapped his ass. "At least 3 hours a piece I'd say. 4 if you don't stop drinking those," he said snatching the drink from him and running off. Snape dropped back to walk beside Rayne and Fred.

"Have they no decency?! I swear, I do not recognize my godson, he never used to act like that!" They watched the boys chase each other around the hallway, fighting for control of the drink.

"And I swear I don't recognize you. I'm surprised you haven't stolen some points from Gryffindor for us being here." Fred said. Rayne laughed.

'Try not to destroy the commons dear.' she told her sister telepathically. Something told her that those two by themselves is worse than Draco on sugar . . ..

'Ummm. . . too late,' came the hesitant reply as they hit the door. Draco opened it, and he and Harry were in the middle of the room before they realized it had been turned into a war zone.

"What the hell?!" Harry yelped. Aralia was collapsed by the quenched fireplace, and Viktor was sprawled across a burnt and waterlogged sofa.

"We forgot it was real," Viktor said in explanation. Rayne gave him a funny look.

"In a Dreamspace, damage doesn't matter. But this is all real." Rayne looked incensed.

"You've been meeting him in dreams, and you never told me?! You just let me think he was dead!?"

"I couldn't tell you, Ray," Aralia said softly. "Any time I tried to bring him up, you started thinking about the boys, and I hated hurting you like that. I knew that eventually I'd be able to tell you. I didn't think he'd show up here, though. Physical location was never something we discussed. We mostly just played around." She waved a vague hand at the room, then rose slowly, and limped over to Rayne, hugging her gently.

"What happened?" Draco asked curiously.

"Twisted my ankle dodging. I'll be fine. The room's what took most of the damage, I'm afraid." She looked around ruefully. "We sure did a number on it, huh?" Professor Snape gaped at the room then at Viktor.

"Your brother is him?" he asked stupidly.

"Yup," Aralia said happily, as Rayne flicked her wand at her sister's ankle, fixing it up in a jiff.

"Quidditch legend?"

"Yes," Rayne said patiently, letting her sister run off and continue with their earlier battle. Aralia pounced on Viktor before he could get off the couch, and they rolled to the floor, wrestling. Rayne chuckled, and released Fred's eyes, so he could examine the room for himself. Immediately he and George began setting it right again. At the other's astonished look, George explained.

"Our joke stuff has often exploded, or otherwise destroyed our rooms, and mum made us learn the repair spells."

"Yeah, since she couldn't get us to stop altogether," Fred added. Rayne laughed, Harry and Draco flopping onto the couch just as it pulled itself back together.

"Be careful with her, or I'll have to show you what for!" Draco called to Viktor, who looked over his sister's shoulder, on of his eyes blackened.

"Look out for her!! Mate, help ME!!"

"I'll help you!" Harry, who had managed to drink most of the Monster himself -to keep it from Draco, he said- bounced over, Draco running just behind him to help Aralia. Fred and George looked at each other, then at the free-for-all that had erupted, and dropped their wands to jump on Viktor and Draco, respectively.

Rayne shook her head and flopped on the couch, waiting for the others to finish destroying the room again. The professor yelled insanely, trying to stop them from permanently wrecking something or each other.

"Don't even bother sir. They won't listen. But they won't do anything permanent either, if only because Viktor will change anything that is into something less serious, then fix it." A tendril of magic snaked out of the group and wrapped around her ankle, trying to get her to join them. "Oh no you don't. Someone has to be responsible, and you know what happened the last time I joined one of your brawls," she said sternly. Viktor looked up and made as pathetic face at her. His lack of attention, however, got him dog piled in short order. Rayne laughed.

"You would all be in the hospital wing for a week if I got involved. Don't tempt me," she said, shaking her head.

"You're no fun, Ray-Ray," Viktor pouted. Aralia cuddled into his side, George curled up against her, Fred next to him, and Harry and Draco ended up sprawled somehow across them, all of them laughing. Snape stared in shock at how quickly they had gone from all out warfare, to a cuddle-fest. Rayne rolled her eyes as but joined them as Viktor held a hand out to her, curling against his other side, Fred quickly moving to join her.

"Is Harry asleep?" Rayne asked incredulously. Draco nodded.

"Caffeine overdose. Apparently it puts him to sleep if he has too much." Rayne still looked confused. "He drank most of my drink in under five minutes. It all hit his system at once, and knocked him out." He rolled his eyes. "I had plans for tonight, too." Aralia snorted.

"I bet they were the same as the plans you've had every night since the two of you got together."

"And if they were? Is there anything wrong with that?"

"Not so long as you two keep up in classes, I guess." Her eyes widened suddenly.

"Oh! I forgot about that! Anchor me, Viki?" He nodded, and she curled into his side, burrowing her face against his chest. She took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, eyes falling shut at the same time. After a couple of moments, he let his hand fall to her face, tapping her cheek gently before nodding.

"She's out." Rayne nodded, standing and giving Draco a hand up, while Fred lifted Harry enough that George could slide out from under him, and help lift him to a chair. Viktor stood, cradling Aralia, and took the other chair, leaving the others to arrange themselves on the couches. Viktor snorted, eyes traveling over the small amount of repair the Weasley twins had managed to effect before they had joined in the romp, and a wave of power flowed from him, restoring the room to it's former pristine state.

"Why did she need an anchor, Viktor?" Rayne asked harshly. He shrugged.

"I do not know. All I know is that she finds it easier to work if I anchor her, especially if she is researching. She gets lost in her search." Rayne nodded, understanding slowly dawning in her eyes.

"What would she be researching?" Draco asked, looking between brother and sister.

"Your bodyguards," Ray replied slowly. "It's the only thing I can think of."

"What about them? They're dull as rocks." Draco said confuzzledly; Viktor snorted.

"You really believe that?" Viktor turned to Rayne. "And you think you can teach him, sister?"

"Their mental processing and their aura don't hold with them being stupid, much the opposite; I have never seen that kind of aura on a dumb person."

"Anyway, they's some sharp rocks," Harry mumbled, holding out his hands so Draco could see the scars across his palms. "Cha hits 'em, 'n' they cuts you." Rayne giggled at Harry's sleepy contribution, but Draco's face darkened at the reminder of the neglect and outright abuse -on his cousin's part- Harry had been forced to suffer through.

"If ya'll intend to survive a day with my brother, I suggest you get to bed." Rayne suggested. Vik gave her a mischievous look.

"They couldn't keep up with me anyway. You must be losing your touch if they can keep up with you." Rayne looked at him, not taking that statement well.

"Are you challenging me brother?" she asked, her tone dangerous.

"Maybe, maybe not, depends on how thick you are." Vik had finally succeeded in goading her into a fight, because she lunged at him over a coffee table, missing Fred and George by inches. They landed with a thud on the carpeting, spilling waves of power over the room's occupants. No one could make out their movements exactly, though it looked as if he were toying with her, whilst she was actually trying to rip him apart.

"Wake up, Har," Draco whispered. "You'll want to see this."

"See whats?" Draco pointed to the squabbling siblings. "Wha'sa?"

"That, would be Rayne and Viktor." Harry's eyes went wide as Rayne went flying across the room, propelled by a stream of midnight blue fire. A battle cry issued from her as her form became a blur of movement. One moment, Vik was standing there with a triumphant grin, and the next he was crumpled up in the fireplace, beating out the flames from his clothes. Harry yelped as a stream of ice and fire shot inches from his shoulder.

"All right, that's enough of that. We don't want anyone getting hurt now." Draco said, standing up, and narrowly avoiding an icicle to the temple.

"Ooh yes we do." Rayne growled, menacingly. Draco raised an eyebrow.

"If you hurt Harry, bitch, were gonna make this little squabble with your brother look like playtime. Got me?" he threatened.

"What did he do to her?" Harry asked Draco, bewildered. Rayne answered for him, punctuating her words with a blast of fire.

"He. Fucking. Let. ME. Believe. He. Was. DEAD! Let, 'Lia in on the secret, but leave me out of it! Like its not enough they died! I have to deal with the FUCKING GUILT of my brother's death too!" Draco looked at Harry.

"Duck," he whispered, and then jumped into the fray, just as Ray managed to slam her brother into the wall, destroying the brickwork. He grabbed her from behind, placing her into a chokehold and hanging on for dear life as she bucked wildly.

He pulled her back slightly, and Harry walked over, despite Draco's attempts to shoo him away, and wrapped his arms around her waist. Her murderous eyes focused on her brother, though her efforts relaxed marginally.

"You sadistic bastard! You know how hard it is for a protector to loose their protected! And you HAD to complicate that by letting me believe you were dead too! Like its not enough!" Harry forced her to look at him, then spoke in a soothing voice.

"He can't erase the pain you went through Rayne, but look around. Not only do you have your family back, but you also have Fred now. Do you honestly believe it would be that easy to kill him? Or make him leave you?" She automatically glanced at Fred and George, who were still sitting shocked on the couch by the wall, before staring into his earnest green eyes. He shifted forward slowly, and kissed her cheek, and she collapsed against him, bursting into tears. Fred was by her side in an instant, taking her from Harry, and cradling her against his chest.

"I don't give a damn what happened in your past, or how long it takes to heal. I will always be right here for you. Always and forever babe." He kissed her forehead, and rocked gently. Harry smiled.

"Smooth move. Props dude. You let Harry do all the hard work calming her down, then take over from there. Real knight in shining armor," Vik shot at him. Draco, Rayne, and Fred shot him glares.

"Just shut up Viktor. Are you trying to kill her?" Fred demanded.

"Maybe," he said rather childishly. Harry rolled his eyes.

"He does have a point, y'know," he said softly, not wanting them to get mad at him as well, but still feeling rather put out. Fred rolled his eyes.

"So sue me for not responding as quickly as Wonder Boy, here. I'm not as used to dealing with emergencies." Viktor and Rayne both raised an eyebrow at this.

"And you're with MY sister? Do you HAVE a death wish?" Viktor looked appalled. Fred's face went red.

"Come on, Fred, you cant tell me you don't have kick ass reflexes after all the dangerous shit you and George get up to when your experimenting," Harry said skeptically.

"Leave him alone." Rayne got a bit territorial, hugging Fred closer, and scowling at the others.

"I take a bit of getting used to. Ask Drake." Draco nodded seriously.

"You guys are NOT going to believe this." Aralia groaned from her chair, stirring and stretching her muscles.

"Those guys you call body guards? WELL…"

"Stop it right there, miss." A commanding voice demanded from the doorway.

"What do you two dolts want?" Draco asked, almost bored. Aralia looked terrified. Crabbe and Goyle took a step into the room, closing and locking the door behind them.

"I'm afraid, a lot more than you would be willing to give without a fight."


End file.
